A Yamanaka Complex!
by gabumafu
Summary: It was behind the ANBU's mask that she could get rid of the numbness of her head, it was crawling through the weakest point of the Ibiki imprisoned she felt alive, it was by leading her clan that she felt the power. Follow Ino as she tries to heal the open wounds of a sad war that took away what she loved most. Never underestimate a Yamanaka.
1. Chapter 1

Ino knocked on the wooden door in front of her, darkness covering the slim figure. It was late at night, the neighborhood was quiet if not for the occasional noise of some animal in the far alleys. She saw one or two homes with lights on, but everything was very calm and peaceful.

Even making sure no one was paying attention to her nervous appearance that night, Ino needed to come inside. She felt vulnerable, and the stress of keeping her guard high was causing a painful discomfort, her mind seemed to be running at an alarming rate that she had learned to identify as too dangerous to be acceptable.

She was a Yamanaka, and knew that the stress and overload she was suffering could cause alarming damage to her body.

She needed to get in.

Ino knocked on the door again. She knew he was there, felt the warmth of his sleeping chakra. She knew the house was protected, but her body was still too fast on adrenaline, and even unintentionally her sensory ability manifested herself for the comforting presence.

Ino didn't want to look desperate or weird, but her head was hurting like a bitch and her vision was starting to get dark, soon her eyes would fail and that couldn't happen considering she needed to be awake in the morning before dawn, in readiness.

Going around the house, she propelled her body until she reached the ledge of a specific window, using the little control she had left to stay steady on the small piece of wood.

Almost instantly, probably alarmed by the presence, Ino felt that the hot chakra had expanded, denouncing that it had finally awakened its possessor.

"Ino? What are you doing? "Naruto's sleepy, confused eyes stared into the darkness, clutching the curtains to see if the blonde hanging at his window was real or some kind of hallucination.

Entering the window, Ino threw her body onto Naruto's bed, bringing both hands to her head and pressing down on the sides.

"My head hurts." She grunted, her mouth dry.

"Are you back from a mission now?" He asked, still looking confused.

Ino looked like a mess, ANBU's black uniform was torn and dotted with dried blood, there were red bruises on her arms and cuts on her neck that Naruto was certain the blonde could easily have healed even in her worst condition, but his biggest concern was the dull, dry eyes that stared at him almost desperately.

"Can I spend the night?" She asked.

Naruto nodded automatically, without considering much, sitting beside her on the bed. He hardly cared that the girl was dirtying his clean sheets, making a note to change them later.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Ino shook her head silently, rising to the dresser. She pulled out a lilac towel and went out to the bathroom, her armor clinking as she walked.

Naruto watched her walk away, his eyes serious on her figure.

Ino's presence at his house had become almost recurring.

It had started on a shared mission when they were still Jounins shortly after the war. The mission had gone well, uneventful, Ino's help had been essential, but for some reason the blonde seemed misfit when they arrived in Konoha at night. As if sad or disappointed.

Naruto knew that Ino was still getting used to a life without father and mother after the heroic death during the war, and for a minute found himself thinking about his own depressing and dark past.

That night, almost on impulse, he invited his recent mate to eat something under the excuse of wanting help in completing the mission report, given that surprisingly Tsunade had trusted the hyperactive ninja to lead the team for the first time. Ino was suspicious, almost surprised, but reluctantly accepted.

They had eaten, talked superficially, and then ended up at Naruto's house, though neither of them even remembered how.

It had been a purely sexual encounter, on both sides, they agreed. Naruto blamed the exhaustion and Ino blamed the loneliness, but either way it had happened and couldn't be undone.

After that day the two spoke little, until Ino appeared again at his door on some night, looking empty and sick.

It was always like this, his home, on random nights, sometimes months without seeing each other, sometimes Ino appeared a week in a row. For Naruto was fine, enjoyed the company, and the sex was hot, didn't require much emotional connection. Ino rarely wanted to talk, which he had learned to deal with.

At first it was strange, she was so quiet and focused at night when with him, but sometimes when he saw her during the day with her friends, she looked the same old Ino, playful and petulant, exuding the arrogance Naruto had known since childhood.

He didn't understand, but accepted the way it was.

With a sigh, he rose from the bed and removed the sheets that had been stained with dirt and a few pieces of grass. Throwing in some corner of the room, he quickly replaced them with clean ones in time for Ino to leave the bathroom, her hair wet and her body wrapped in the towel.

She sat on the edge of the bed and simply reached out with a plastic brush. Naruto took it and gently started running through her soft blond hair.

It was a habit he had found so much fun. Ino even in her depression and sadness still cared a lot about appearance, and vehemently refused to sleep with wet or tangled first time he had combed her hair was strange but lovely, he had no idea girls liked that kind of thing. It was common now, and the way Ino reveled in the caress, tilting her head toward him, warmed his heart, he had to admit.

When it was over, he quickly gathered some chakra in his hands and conjured a simple wind jutsu, blowing the water off the pale hair strands, a technique he had learned especially after the blonde complained about the lack of a dryer in his house.

He had earned extra rewards for the effort to learn that justsu.

"Thank you," she murmured, unrolling the towel off her body and lying on her side of the bed, nestling against Naruto's chest, her nose tucked into his t-shirt, breathing in his heady scent of aloe vera.

"Ino ..." Naruto strangled a grunt, feeling the feminine curves press against his body.

"I'm tired." She answered quietly, although her body unfolded to reach extremely specific points on Naruto's body.

"Ino!" He warned again, pulling her so that she was sitting on his lap, her naked body so perfect that it made him think again how the hell he had managed to bring someone like Yamanaka Ino to his bed.

With a thick smile she pulled his face in a kiss, her hands running down his ribs to meet the edge of the shirt, pulling it over his head and parting their lips for seconds, but quickly resuming it with the same hunger.

Naruto's hands gripped her hip, rubbing them against the lump formed in his shorts, pulling a hoarse moan from Ino's throat. Her sloping torso gave him a perfect view of her bare breasts, and his fingers automatically trailed to the pinky nipples that lit up happily while his other hand continued to keep up with her hip.

"Oh, Naruto ..." Ino broke the kiss, dissatisfied with the thick fabric that separated her sensitive flesh from his throbbing pleasure. With wet kisses on his large chest and green eyes locked on the satisfaction of her lover's face, Ino slid across the bed until it was waist level, reveling in the urgent look on Naruto's face.

With her agile fingers, she played with the ninja's stupidly orange shorts bar, slowly pulling it down until she found what she wanted.

Hot sex with Naruto relieved the tight spots in her mind, Ino concluded as she fell to the soft mattress on the bed. She had arrived in physical and emotional troubles, ready to lose control of her own game, which would never be acceptable, and now, after having sex with the blonde ninja, she felt normal again. As if the pain in her mind was just a distant memory.

It would be the pinnacle of happiness for anyone to discover that a disease, or whatever, could be cured with sex. To her it was scary.

"They want me to take over the clan soon," she whispered, the only indication in the silent room showing that Naruto wasn't sleeping was the latent, warm tingle of his chakra poking from his body beside her.

"What do you mean?" Naruto turned his head slightly to see Ino staring at the ceiling, her arms crossed behind her head on the pillow.

"I came back from a mission yesterday, I was three weeks away, and the elders demanded a meeting at that time. Nonetheless, no excuses. They want me to take over the clan, Shikamaru has already done that. They want to start training tomorrow. "Ino said, her eyes fixed on the wooden ceiling. She found it interesting . She used to always find some weird sand or dirt on his walls, but now everything was very clean.

"Are you the Yamanaka heiress?" Naruto asked looking confused, his brow furrowed.

"Didn't you know?" This time Ino turned her head to look at him, one brow arched.

"I always thought you were just… a Yamanaka. Hinata and Shikamaru have a giant compound, you live in a flower shop, I didn't think it was something like ... an heiress? "

It drew a soft laugh from Ino, though it didn't really come to her eyes, but it was light and fun. She turned her body sideways so that she could better see Naruto, his hair falling to the sides of his face. She put her face under her cheeks, still smiling.

"We don't really live in the flower shop… I mean, sometimes we happened to spend a day or two there. The store belonged to my grandparents, they lived upstairs, and now that I ... I live alone, I prefer to stay there at night. The Yamanaka compound is farther, near the wildflower field to the north. "She explained. "Since my father died I knew of my responsibility to the clan… but it's not something I'd like to do, you know? Dad would one day teach me, I've known that since I learned the meaning of having a clan ... but I don't see myself that way anymore. "

"And you can't, like, resign?" Naruto scratched his head, he really didn't understand much about clans, although he now knew he belonged to one.

"I could, my cousin would love that, but… I can't really. Firstborn heirs have been leading my clan for hundreds of years. There are jutsus that only my father knew, and now ... I don't know. "Ino flinched and bit her cheek, every time she spoke of her father the bittersweet feeling of longing hit her so hard it burned her chest. "It's so much. I think it's hurting my mind all this, sometimes those itches make my head hurt a lot. "

Ino shifted uncomfortably. Normally she wouldn't talk to Naruto that much, she should have been asleep already, but her mind was tired and she needed to unload the burden of stress crammed into her body.

She thought of the wrinkled face of Hibari-Sama, the oldest Yamanaka elder, the long hair that came almost to his heels, and his milky blue eyes betraying an almost blindness, which did not prevent the old man from staring at her with such intensity.

The conversation had been long, unexpected. She had just landed on the compound, the porcelain mask still on her face, the fresh battle bruises on her skin waiting for her to come home to heal them properly, when Yata-Sama announced that the old Yamanakas were requesting her presence.

Ino had been on a clan council only once without her father, right after the war. It had been fast, confusing and sad. She bitterly remembered all the required code of conduct, and was not happy to use it.

In addition to Hibari-Sama and Yuta-Sama, there was Inaia-Sama, the only woman on the council, and the most despicable of the three. Ino found it interesting that, except at board meetings and official ceremonies, she never saw the elders around the compound, it was as if they didn't exist for the rest of the days, or were hiding waiting to have any complaints before they could appear.

Yuta had praised her stance as ANBU member, Hibari asked about the shifts of the Torture and Interrogation division with Ibiki-Sensei, and Inaia criticized her lack of commitment to the clan.

She needed to take over as leader, the Yamanaka were without leadership, Ino could not allow her cousin Daisuki to continue making decisions in her absence. She needed to train the clan's secret jutsus, it was forbidden to be passed on to anyone but the firstborn heir by right. The lineage could not be lost. It was her responsibility, and it was bad enough that she was a woman.

Responsibility.

"It's normal?"

"What?"

"The pain in your head?" Naruto looked worried, and Ino was silent. It was cute that Naruto cared about her health, and God, it had been so long since anyone wanted to know anything about her, but she wasn't ready to share such particular things about herself and her genes.

"Yes," she said simply, keeping her eyes on the ninja's face. "I should leave."

Ino sprang to her feet, grabbing her uniform pants and shoving one leg through them. She would need to shower again later, one way or another.

Naruto rose to his elbows, watching the girl stroll around the room gathering her things.

"You can spend the night, Ino-chan."

Ino slipped from his hands like water, looked like a risky and suspicious wild animal. Very different from the teasing and playful kunoichi he always saw on the streets of Konoha clowning around.

The first few times she came to his house, Naruto thought they would build some kind of relationship. After a while he realized that Ino was looking for some kind of reparation with him, as if it were an emotional crutch for her delicate state.

He was fine with that, and unlike what he expected, he had not been disappointed by the lack of feeling in what they were doing.

But there were times like this when he wanted Ino to let him in.

"I better go. I need to wake up before dawn, and you don't have to wake up for that either. "Ino opened the window and looked over to where Naruto was, his messy golden hair, the white sheet around his waist contrasting with his tanned skin.

Ino approached, half uncertainly, and bent to seal their lips in a quick kiss.

"Thank you." She said sincerely softening her expression before covering her face with Anbu's mouse mask and jumping out the window.

Naruto blinked in surprise, taking a few minutes to restore his normal numbness, scratching his head in confusion.

. X.

Konoha's summer wind whistled in Ino's ear as she made her way over the roofs of the houses, her long hair whipping behind her, still loose from her previous adventures.

(Sometimes she wondered if civilians really had quality nights sleep in that central area, considering that all day and night the ninjas walked in soft steps across their rooftops.)

The path to the southernmost Naruto neighborhood was relatively far from the Yamanaka compound, where she intended to spend the night. She could use more effective ways to get home quickly, but the fresh wind path clouded her thoughts, and that was comforting.

She didn't like to think about specific things, and precipitating future events was a trap from which she kept her distance. On the contrary, she liked to think of random things that didn't require much effort.

She thought of Sakura, tried to remember her schedule to know if she would be on duty tonight at the hospital now that she headed the entire surgical area. She was immensely proud of her best friend, but she couldn't deny that the promise to Asuma still glowed in her head at times, and sporadically she found herself calculating the technical level of her own skills with Sakura's in order to decide who was leading the way. higher ninja level, which always ended in absolute stalemate, as their careers had nothing to do with each other.

From time to time her thoughts drifted to Chouji and Shikamaru. Chouji seemed happy in a totally unpredictable relationship with Karui, a foreign ninja who had been allied in the war. She had no idea where this romance had come from, but it was cute and very pure, though sometimes it was stressful to hear Chouji sighs around her longing for her girlfriend.

In the same vein, Shikamaru also seemed to have developed some kind of weird relationship with Temari, sister of Suna's Kazekage, although this was more to be expected. Her heart was still jealous when she saw the older blonde accompanying her former teammate on visits to Konoha, but her feelings for Shikamaru were just confusing remnants of pre-teen.

Anyway, it was undeniable that the ShikaChou part of the old team 10 had a romantic complex for foreign ninjas.

As if Konoha's kunoichis weren't enough, stupid men.

She missed her friends.

Chouji was still the most available among the three, taking missions here and there to maintain his active form, although he was much more focused on studies to teach in the early years of the academy. Shikamaru had assumed the post of chief of the Nara clan, while along with Naruto (although he believed the blonde was far less applied to the extent that Shikamaru was lazy) he took lessons daily for the future Hokage's counselor post, something that had impressed her so much. In return for their busy schedule, Ino's own routine made it almost impossible to find any time to meet.

It killed her.

It was as if everything had changed very quickly, and soon they were no longer like Big Team 10, climbing for every possible joint mission. Now they were known, who met sporadically as they walked down the street, with an occasional "we need to mark something together again" that never came to fruition.

After her father's death, she hoped as selfishly as possible that her connection with Shikamaru would intensify and they could share their pain as a healing process.

However, Shikamaru seemed to cope better with his pain by suddenly turning into a responsible adult man, while Ino (and this she admitted without remorse) fled to Ibiki and was content to torture prisoners, as if the pain inflicted on them would make up for it. her own personal pain.

He was sadistic, but Ino had learned to enjoy mild wickedness.

She knew 13-year-old Ino would be having unpleasant shivers at the thought of working with Ibiki, but just as her father had led the Torture and Interrogation department, she felt comfortable inside the underground walls and even more so in and out. of sick minds, discovering their own limits by playing with the whole mental chain of people who didn't deserve a second chance.

Her work was dirty and unglamorous, but it was something someone had to do, and for her it was fine.

Sometimes, when her thoughts fled to darker places, she wondered what her father would think of how life had changed.

She was a good tool. It met Ibiki's expectations during the day, and was a key weapon for ANBU when it came to reconnaissance and espionage.

In those moments she forced herself to gather her thoughts back to the curve.

Suddenly stopping in her tracks, Ino frowned when she felt a familiar chakra current nearby, though she couldn't identify where exactly it came from, which was unusual considering her sensory abilities and the power charge the chakra had. .

It was impossible not to notice and it was so familiar, and yet she could not find the source.

And in a single moment, as she pondered her closest pursuit, it was gone.

Ino's eyebrows arched even further, astonished by what had happened.

Should she report this? Or would it be silly?

It was common for ninjas to sometimes exhale more chakra than usual, considering their level of strength and power, especially in cases of adrenaline, but she still found the odd feeling creeping up her spine.

It wasn't her patrol night, she decided. If she at rest had felt the chakra, surely the alert ninjas at work should have felt that too. Perhaps that was why it had disappeared so suddenly, someone should have looked into the situation.

And the chakra was familiar, so it must be someone she knew, maybe she hadn't identified because it wasn't part of her daily life.

There was no danger.

Finding her resolve at least decent, Ino returned to her path, a brief glance over her shoulder to make sure everything was all right.

**Ok guys, so let's go for some considerations.**

**I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to update a new chapter, please let me know what you think.**

**English is not really my native language so it may contain some grammar and concordance errors, if anyone qualifies for proofreading it would be great.**  
**I really don't know where this is going, I just wrote some ideas on paper after thinking that Ino really has the capacity to be much more than Masashi Kishimoto gave him, hey, a Yamanaka's mental abilities are incredibly powerful.**  
**About pairing, I'm really in doubt. Sasuke will be in it, but I also want to put Naruto and Neji at the same time as I don't want to stifle the story with too much romantic drama, so eventually I'll have to choose one of the two N's to fix in the love triangle, so if you have opinions, please tell me**


	2. Chapter 2

For some funny reason, people have stigmatized that ninjas are able to protect an entire system while protecting civilians from any untimely danger.

Well, it was like that once. You could hire a considerable ninja of very good skill for a D + or C mission to get your mischievous cat out of a tree (Yes, Madame Shijimi, yes I am talking about Tora and you), but it is not how things happened anymore.

Let's go for a quick calculation of statistics. (Ino, strategy has nothing to do with statistics, God!).

The 4th Great Ninja War was responsible for the decrease of 39% of the ninja coefficient in Konoha, this counted between deaths and permanent disability. It's a big, very big number.

Let's continue. 2% retired for various reasons, because, well, war is not easy for a ninja!

Furthermore, it appears that bloody deaths, laceration, instability and abuse are very frightening, and thus, there was a drastic 79% decrease in enrollment for the ninja career in the early years of the academy.

That means that almost nobody woke up on a beautiful day and thought, maybe I want to be a ninja! Much less that the parents would pat the child on the back and say, I am so proud! Extracting the small part of children from traditionally Shinobi clans, no one else wanted to have anything to do with the military.

If that were not enough, the renegade ninjas who were not involved in the war with any nation, the bandits, the prisoners who took advantage of the security lapse in the villages, and all the rest of the ninja scum, had decided it was a good time to take advantage of the lack of good ninjas out there, and just got together to start a lot of heinous crimes everywhere.

This meant that, unless you were under 14, you would in no way receive missions of a character less than B-, which, hey again, this increased the risk by 80% from missions due to bruises or , well, death.

And I didn't even go into the issue of exhaustive journeys and missions amended without pause in the middle that also hospitalized many ninjas due to exhaustion and depletion of energy.

As much as this creates a harmful vicious circle, we cannot even blame mission managers and senior management positions because there is simply no other way out than to contain the damage as much as possible while creating an emergency plan to regain control of everything.

I would really like to understand why people think that after a war (not a battle), everything remains the same, with fun outings and everything, partying, celebrating, having fun, finding everything great because, oh, the worst passed on.

The war is not romantic, people die, people get sick, lose their arms, legs, lose their heads, and guess what, when you come home, nothing is normal, because it just doesn't happen.

War is pain, suffering, and what comes next are dire consequences that do not heal overnight.

.

.

.

It was difficult for Ino to wake up that morning. It always was. She liked the unconscious inertia her body took on when she was sleeping, the way she just thought of nothing, enjoying the rebuilding of energy that every cell in her body went through.

Ino had not dreamed for five years. Sometimes voices broke out through her torpor, but she saw no image, since she had been induced to sleep soundly during the war. After that, as if she had put an iron band over her head, the dreams never came.

Anyway, it was feeling chills from the cold breeze entering the window that Ino woke up. She knew better than to just leave the window open while sleeping, it was dangerous and inconsequential, but sometimes, before going to sleep, Ino wondered if it was really worth getting back up. She knew it was stupid, she was grateful for her life, but she couldn't help thinking. So, from time to time, she did some foolish things to risk, if it were to happen, it would happen.

When her eyes opened to the darkness, still groggy from drowsiness, she felt a shiver run through her arms, sensitive to the cold nights of Konoha.

It was early, the hands of the clock determined that there was still an hour or two left until dawn, just enough time for her to prepare for the morning of training with Hibari-Sama.

During the bath, while the warm water ran through her muscles, Ino felt herself shiver at the touch of soap on the wounds she had forgotten to heal the day before. The purple spots on her arm didn't worry her much, but the thick lines of kunai on her neck, however superficial they were, would still form ugly scars.

Running smooth chakra-wrapped fingers over the wounds, she was able to quickly get rid of the small cracks, although she was unable to heal the largest one on her neck. It was useless to try to use chakra for skin repair now, there was not enough melanin production and the scar had already lost its epidermis, she would have to get used to the whitish overjet that had settled there, and hope that her hair would cover .

Ino had several of these now. Sometimes, she thought with a macabre irony in her childhood, when she refused to help in the flower shop without the proper use of gloves, afraid that a thorn could damage her perfectly immaculate skin.

Now, although she cared for good looks, she couldn't help the traces of the struggle from making its way through her skin. Most of them, small evidence of battle, were reduced and barely visible, a satisfactory replica of the use of Ino's medical ninjutsu, but there were still the big and ugly ones that appeared if looked for carefully.

When she got out of the shower and returned to the cold air, Ino was tempted to return to her warm covers. It had been a long time since she had been able to enjoy the comfort of her own bed, and it seemed that whenever she was back home, some indispensable commitment arose. Her items at home were so untouched that she was sure that there were enough layers of dust on the lower floors to kill someone with an allergy, and her refrigerator would probably need urgent cleaning.

Ino ran her blue eyes over her clothes, noting the purple outfit kept untouched in a corner. It had been so long since she had worn her ninja clothes. After the war she had rare opportunities to wear her Chunnin clothes, always alternating between the Anbus uniform or the Torture and Interrogation department uniform, and when none of them, simply dressed in anything comfortable that aligned with her state of exhaustion .

Now, no uniform seemed appropriate, and she found herself grabbing the purple fabric between her fingers. Probably no longer fit the developed body, especially considering that her figure was no longer as thin as it used to be, the result of scarcity of time to really maintain a decent diet, and the physical effort that had toned her muscles in a proportion that a skirt adolescent would not support.

Ino was no longer a girl, she was a woman.

Finally, she ended up taking out the black Anbu uniform pants from the closet, but her eyes lingered longer on the T-shirts.

People have always found Ino's plentiful display of skin inconvenient, but seeing her selection of T-shirts, she really couldn't find anything as useful as her sleeveless tops. She liked the freedom of movement and flexion that the lack of tissue provided for her, although she did not think it would be appropriate to train with the elders on her bare stomach.

Grabbing some spare bandages from a drawer, Ino raised an eyebrow, choosing a yellow top from her collection.

People have always found Ino's plentiful display of skin inconvenient, but seeing her selection of T-shirts, she really couldn't find anything as useful as her sleeveless tops. She liked the freedom of movement and flexion that the lack of tissue provided for her, although she did not think it would be appropriate to train with the elders on her bare stomach.

Grabbing some spare bandages from a drawer, Ino raised an eyebrow, choosing a yellow top from her collection.

.

.

.

Walking through the Yamanaka complex, Ino felt the wind ruffle the hairs on her neck, happy for the warmers on her arm and the bandages on her stomach, but aware that as soon as the sun rose, she would need to get rid of the material so she wouldn't suffer from heat stroke with the absurd hot sun.

The climate in Konoha was as temperamental as a pregnant woman, and could surprise you with its dynamic variations.

Her compost was very quiet despite the rustle of leaves in the trees, fluttering, the pitch of darkness as if it were a mantle falling over in the dawn. It seemed very peaceful and reassuring to watch all the houses rebuilt after the war, and although the damage to her clan had been minimized by the actions of some retired ninjas who furnished the place at the time, there had still been grazes and collapses in some areas.

Lifting her head, Ino watched as Yamanaka's Inosho and Iamana youngest son gently landed in front of his house, an expression of relief that Ino had learned to recognize on her own face after arriving safely home. The boy must have been at most fourteen years old, but he had a very advanced ninja bearing.

"Good morning Ino-Sama." He whispered as loudly as he could, enough to get his attention but not so loud that it really made any noise.

Ino smiled, raising her hand in greeting. She didn't really remember the boy's name, but whenever she saw him he was very polite and greeted her with a huge smile, full of sympathy.

"Welcome back home." She whispered in response, sincere in her words. She cared for each of them, and although she was not intimate with everyone, it was her family.

Suddenly the door to the house opened, and Ino saw the figure of Iamana in her flowered nightgown by the yellowish glow of a lighted lamp. The woman sighed and took the children by the arm, burying her face in his neck and murmuring veiled thanks to the gods for bringing her son safely home.

The boy looked awkwardly at Ino and shook his head, being pulled by his mother inside, the door closing soon after.

Her heart sank. She remembered the same expression on Inoichi's face, his eyes heavy and his face contorted in pure relief every time Ino dropped her sandals by the door. Even at sixteen and fully aware that his daughter was a fully capable ninja, her father never rested properly when she was away. She thought of her mother, the dozens of candles lit in her room, and the heartbroken lament that her little girl was in such a dangerous world. She didn't understand the need for her precious little gem to need to do something like that. Inoichi was always in charge of whispering words of comfort in his wife's ear, even though his worried face gave away the rush.

Ino would never have that again.

When Asuma died, Ino felt her world being swallowed up. She had never felt the weight of death before, and added to the weight of guilt, it felt like lead burying her body. It hurt to watch the meeting of the Rookies without her Sensei's presence, it hurt not to be able to share her Shinobi anxieties with Asuma anymore. He was their support, he was responsible for their ninja ambition, he was the present example, and they were Asuma's children.

But Asuma died.

It hurt like hell, but her father was there. He offered his shoulder, and taught the ways of a ninja, he shared his own experience, and when Ino killed someone for the first time she had her father to comfort her crying.

And now she had no one.

She came to an empty house, and when she felt any kind of fear, she learned to deal with it on her own. She no longer had anyone to guide her, and Ino found that learning by making mistakes was painful but effective.

Asuma and Inoichi could no longer be her knights, and her mother would no longer be her queen.

Ino intensified her expression, almost forcing her brain to stop wandering, turning her thoughts to more useful things than brooding over something she couldn't change.

The Sepulcher of the Yamanaka clan was a large building, with several types of ornamental flowers, many of which would not even be conducive to living in an environment like Konoha, but which bloomed perfectly simple there.

This was where his father's body was truly buried, buried under thousands of flowers along with all the other Yamanakas. Not next to her mother as he would have wanted, but next to all the other leaders, where her own body would one day be, no matter how much her daughter cried and fought.

It was just beautiful, and despite the morbid context, Ino was at peace there. It was comforting, and a little bizarre, but she felt very close to her parents and all of her ancestors.

Next to the garden, a very large temple with white mahogany walls rose, and it was there that Ino looked forward to the presence of the elders, sitting on her knees on a cushion in front of three others, several candles lit irritating her nose.

When the sun started to rise, Ino started to get irritated. Hibari-Sama had ordered her presence before the sun came up, and now, seeing the golden glow bathing the whole scene and hearing the gradual hum of life from the rest of the clan, she wondered if she had heard correctly.

As expected, it was starting to get hot, and Ino took a heater off her arm, the other strategically posted to hide her Anbu brand.

It was only after, what she imagined to be, two hours past Hibari's deadline, when a droplet of infernal sweat slipped from her neck to the end of her spine leaving an itchy trail, that the three elders appeared through the door.

Ino just narrowed her eyes, choosing to remain wisely silent in pure respect for the code of conduct of a good lady, although her expression was very clear about her discontent.

"Happy to see you here, Yamanaka Ino." Inaia-Sama said, both hands hidden inside the sleeves of the traditional kimono, her very pale blond hair that almost reached her knees and the asymmetrical cut made her look intimidating.

Ino pursed her lips in a toothless smile.

"I keep my commitments Inaia-Sama, it's the right thing to do." She shot in a politicized tone, the crease in the other woman's forehead almost going unnoticed by her eyes.

"This is a good thing to hear, Ino-Chan. Commitment is a forgotten virtue these days, especially for you young people. "Yuta-Sama's face was much more passive, although Ino did not prevent her eyebrow from rising involuntarily.

Leave it to three crazy old folks to call their generation uncommitted after being late for nearly three hours.

Hibari-Sama led the way of the elders to the cushions in front of Ino, taking his place in the middle as the oldest of them, Inaia just to his right and Yuta to his left. Hibari's milky eyes looked serious but complacent, analyzing the shape of Kunoichi in front of him, as if he were really seeing even her soul, when Ino doubted that he could see a span in front of him. In the end, he cleared his throat and held out his hand to Inaia, who took a very simple white-covered book from inside her sleeve, slightly larger than her own hand.

There was something uncomfortable about being in this situation, even if it was expected, because I was in front of the most influential people in your clan, but it still caught you unprepared. She could hear every subtle breath of the elders, she could feel every nerve ending in her tense body that from time to time forced her to move a finger or her neck to ease the stiff muscles.

It took a few minutes, intense minutes, with Hibari-Sama just there staring at her, holding that book, Inaia with her eyes closed and her arms still crossed, and Yuta really looking like a character apart, sometimes looking out the windows, other times running his fingers through his hair.

In the end, Hibari-Sama cleared his throat and held out his hand with the book. Ino looked at the white cloak, and then back at Hibari, unwilling to grab it without the elder's explicit permission.

"This is the clan policy book, Ino. These are essential rules that cannot be broken, and that have governed all our people since the times when we lived on top of the mountains. You must know what awaits you, and the submission of having to choose among priorities that you will need to exercise in assuming your role as the leader of the Yamanakas. Take it, it's yours to keep until you have your firstborn child. "

Ino held out her hand, thin fingers curling around the hard cover of the book, feeling the irregularities of its edges.

"Above all, you are expected to know a lot about the fundamentals of our clan's techniques, we have no doubt about it, and for example we can take all of its powerful manifestations both in war and in your own work in the areas of Konoha intelligence. But, the complexity of the mind, Ino, that we can never explain to you. We were responsible for dissecting the most powerful organ in the human body. The mind is the most powerful weapon in a nation, as we all have it, but few know how to use it correctly. "Hibari held out his hand again to Inaia, and Ino followed the movement with trained eyes, absorbing the words of the elder.

From inside the sleeve, this time, Inaia took out a parchment, which, unlike the old book in her hand, looked very preserved and almost untouched, with golden details.

"This is the most powerful asset in our clan. On this scroll, there are three secret jutsus powerful enough to break a nation. I'll give you them Ino, for a month. You will have sufficient power in your possession to annihilate us, or to save us until your last breath of life. "

Ino looked again at the parchment, the simple piece of paper, and she suddenly felt anxious. She never had that much responsibility thrown in her face at once, and now having to garnish something like age-old techniques weighed like stones in her stomach.

"Yamanaka Ino, these techniques are not just ordinary Yamanaka jutsus, they are not something that can be taught. They are dangerous, and only you can learn this on your own. The mind is your playground, but it can also be your graveyard. The power that comes with this scroll can drive someone crazy, and the track record is not optimistic. "

Inaia's voice filled the room, her high tone very serious as she looked dead into Ino's eyes.

"Are you saying that I can go crazy? How, out of my mind? "Ino asked, looking at Hibari. She didn't feel confident enough to question Inaia, but in the end, it was Yuta who answered.

"Yes, Ino. The mind is a delicate maze, and before using any S-level technique on someone, you need to understand your own, so you don't lose it. There are reports of heirs who tried to understand the technique and lost their sanity, but we have faith that it will not happen to you. "

"You have a month to learn the techniques," Inaia said.

"What? What do you mean? "Ino raised her head, both eyebrows so arched they almost reached her scalp. Nobody talked about deadlines.

"What Inaia means is that the clan's techniques are only taught in the event of a mutual willingness to transfer the leader's title to some direct heir. In ordinary cases, the transfer would only take place when the heir learned the techniques, this could be within a month, a year, two, ten, as many as needed, as long as the previous head was still in a position to lead. "Hibari explained , the still voice.

"But we don't have a leader, so I don't have time." Ino concluded, acknowledging the situation, her shoulders tense.

Hibari nodded.

"In the current conditions of the village, we do not know when the appointment of a new Hokage will take place. We are on a destructive bias, and weekly meetings are held with all the heads of the clans. It's been five years since Inoichi's death, and five years since the Yamanakas have no representation or voting power at all, Ino. We cannot have a political isolation like that, the Nara and Akimichi have our backs, but they cannot be our voice for so long. There are rumors that the appointment of Uzumaki Naruto will be delayed, and the aptitude test will be checked by all the Leaders. We need to be there. "Yuta concluded.

Ino took in the new information, feeling like a rabbit trapped in the middle of lions, her face still impassive as if she were really pondering her options, when she knew she really had none. With the mention of Naruto's name, she hid her veiled interest, disliking the way Yuta suspiciously referred to him, as if he wasn't sure if Naruto deserved that position.

She knew that, by accepting all this new madness of leading a clan, the interests of her people would be over her individual interest, and that it really meant evaluating things with much less selfish eyes and doing things that might not be pleasant.

But still, when referring to the Hokage post, it was likely that even if Naruto presented himself dressed as a clown, her vote would be unyielding in favor of the blond's immediate possession. She simply did not believe that there was anyone with a superior ability to take the reins of Konoha.

"I understand." Ino replied. "I thought we were going to train." She added quickly, really remembering that even before this whole meeting, there was supposed to be training with Hibari-Sama.

"We are not going, not now. You have a month to learn these techniques, and we can't help you, but we can prepare you. Once a week you will have mental strengthening training with me, Yuta and Inaia. This is very important. We start next week. "

"What if I don't agree with any of these rules?" Ino asked, holding up the book.

"The clan rules are not negotiable." Inaia replied dryly.

"What if I don't agree with something? What happens if I can't learn the techniques? "

"So I'm afraid we'll have to give Santa or Daisuki a chance. It never happened before, but it would be the only option. We believe in you Ino. "Yuta said, a small smile on his pursed lips.

"Remember, child, the secret to a strong mind is to have your heart in the right place."

.

.

.

When Ino managed to leave that temple, almost half an hour after watching the retreat of the elders and being released to do whatever she wanted for the rest of the week, it looked like someone had put the world on her back, and she could even swear that her spine was half curved.

Her body seemed forty times more tense than any spy mission she had ever been on before, and suddenly she felt very aware of the invisible weight of the book and the parchment in her pocket, as if they were too exposed, even if she knew with it. absolute certainty that nowhere could be more safe than under her surveillance.

Part of her rational mind thought that the training should start at that moment, and that she had to return home and find out what were the techniques that would decide her future, so that she could enhance the level of difficulty and unlock the best way of learning.

The other side of her mind, more peaceful yet still rational, made her leave the gate of her Compound, and take the quickest route to the center of the village, her steps involuntarily following a known path.

She did not know why every time she felt unstable or fearful, she always sought the Uzumaki boy's physical support. Ino had never been to his house during the day, it was something that just didn't happen, she preferred to stay away from the sagacious looks of the gossipy villagers, but at that moment, with her dizzy information mind, she was scared and just wanted to be able to share her screaming silence with someone who would not suffocate her.

When she reached the main road, Ino let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding, feeling much safer in the middle of the crazy movement in the center of Konoha. Involuntarily, she reached into her pocket, her fingers caressing the two precious objects in a casual motion.

The village market was full, and on the way, as she dodged hurried passers-by, she considered whether it really was a good idea to show up at Naruto's house so early. In her sane mind, it seemed that the percentages of something wrong happening were substantially higher than achieving the peace goal she was looking for.

It was when, from the peripheral vision, Ino saw an orange blur that caught her attention.

Through the glass of the steakhouse, Ino was able to see Naruto sitting without a care in the world, his back relaxed against the bench and both hands behind his head, while talking to Sakura in front of him, a giant smile on his face.

Ino wrinkled her nose, not really satisfied with having her plans foiled. Even though in the end she chose not to go to Naruto's house, she didn't like having the options out of her hand. Again.

It was not uncommon for Naruto to be seen hanging with Sakura, even after explicit rejections, the boy still professed his undying love for the billboard brow. Hinata's confession thrown to the corner.

In fact, to be honest, in one of their brief bedside conversations, Naruto had explained that Hinata was in his heart, and that he hadn't rejected the girl, just asked for time to get to know her enough to be able to reciprocate her feelings. .

Sometimes, when she had time, Ino would stroll through the village and actually see Naruto in some awkward encounter with the Hyuuga heiress, eating ice cream or strolling through the park.

Hinata was her friend, as was Sakura, and she felt bad about sharing moments with Naruto without their knowledge. It was as if she was betraying the trust they had, and she knew that her actions would cause painful hurt, even though there was no feeling at all in their relationship.

Even so, that did not stop Ino frowning in annoyance seeing Sakura bite the straw of the juice she was drinking, much less prevented her eyes from rolling when she saw the slight flush in the hyperactive ninja's mouthpieces with the simple movement of the pink.

Maybe Ino was too engrossed at the moment, and how ridiculous her two friends looked in the whole platonic lovey dovey scene, but it took a few humiliating seconds for her to notice Uchiha Sasuke's dark presence beside Sakura, the shadows of the ambience camouflaging the man.

Her face was still tied in a disgusted grimace when her eyes caught the younger Uchiha's arched brow, his expression of pure boredom looking almost puzzled staring at her.

Ino returned the look, refusing to be the first to look away from the Uchiha, a silent war of power and stubbornness taking shape.

Uchiha SasuKe had become an undeniably attractive man, in the same proportions as he was a bastard. That is, he was very handsome. Maybe it was his arrogant aura, or the fact that he was a cold traitor who fed Ino a violent grudge every time she saw the Uchiha, but something just triggered a rage that was difficult to mask.

Sasuke's situation was complicated, and Ino really knew very little about it. She was aware that the last Uchiha was inspected daily, and every week she felt his presence on the premises of the Interrogation department.

He went through frequent analyzes, through the hands of Ibiki, and through the hands of her cousin Daisuki, and although she knew that jobs like this were her specialty, she understood that her past proximity to the boy generated doubts about her ability to work.

Not that it was going to interfere in her performance in any way, but she understood the reasons.

The passion she felt for Uchiha Sasuke was dead and buried, even though in the end she had turned her face away from the black eyes, because something in those irritating eyes made her want to run back to the hole she had come from.

"Yamanaka."

Ino shivered, the golden hairs on her arm stood up like a frightened cat, Hyuuga Neji's very calm voice always seemed so flat and serious that it was unmistakable, even without looking.

"Damn Neji, are you watching me?" Ino asked, indignation palpable as her hands automatically went to her hips, her neck spinning to actually find Hyuuga's imperturbable figure in his impeccable ninja clothes, his arms drooping beside the body.

Neji frowned.

"I thought you knew I was here, I didn't want to interrupt your connection with Uchiha."

"Connection? With the Uchiha? God, I would rather have a connection with a mangy dog than reach less than two meters from the bastard. "

"Ino-Chan!"

"God, kill me."

Unlike Neji, Naruto's voice was unmistakable and at least three-quarters louder than any cacophony in the environment. There he was, a stupid smile on his face, closely followed by Sakura - still sucking on the damn straw of juice - and a hateful Uchiha with an expression of death, even if she was a necromancer, she could almost feel the vibes of "I don't I want to be here" leaving his body.

Ino was out of luck. If she tossed a coin, she would probably go back to her own eye.

* * *

**Hi guys, I'm back. Sorry for the delay. Know that I read each comment very affectionately, and I am very happy with everything, each criticism is very important to me.**

**I still feel very insecure about writing, I know a lot about English, but little about storytelling and the way of writing. But I am doing my best.**

**These first chapters are very boring, but necessary, it is basically introductory chapters for you to be able to understand the plot.**

**Please don't give up on me!**

**About couples, I'm still not sure of anything, but let's see how it will flow.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ino silently followed Neji down a tree-lined path, the dusty ground raising clouds of dirt. It was surprising that his white robes were still immaculate, while she could already feel her legs itch.

Preliminary Ino imagined that the meeting with team seven earlier would be uncomfortable and awkward, but it had been relatively better than expected, almost casual.

Sakura approached with an arched brow, questioning why she was with Neji, the malice and suspicion dripping into her voice was so evident that Ino blushed at the accusation, realizing too late that her cheeks burned red, an unkind note from Naruto about her looking like Hinata.

Ino recovered with an aggressive response for Sakura to get into her own business, which generated an argument of smart shots between the two women that was only interrupted with a displaced comment from Naruto, which readjusted Sakura's route of anger towards him.

She was happy about it, but a little sympathetic to Naruto's agony as he was thrown away by a punch to the stomach.

At that time Ino was very aware of the dark Uchiha Sasuke figure near them, but not for a second did she look away or express her recognition, choosing to ignore his presence entirely.

She didn't want to be too comfortable or receptive to the Uchiha.

The brief conversation was interrupted with an impatient - and unexpected - comment from Neji, who bluntly dismissed the meeting and practically led the way out, leaving a confused Naruto, a stoic Uchiha and a Sakura with enough subject to make Ino miserable later.

She and Neji were ... familiar with each other. They were neither close friends nor strangers. More like co-workers.

In fact, Neji was a captain Anbu with honors and historical merit long before Ino even considered taking the entrance exam. If she were going to be honest with herself, there was a whole new level between the two in terms of skill, and her pride was hurt in admitting that it had taken her more than two months to realize that the Hyuuga who was repeatedly paired with her on missions, was Neji.

It was just another topic added to the list of humiliations between them over the years, just below the disaster in an attempt to seduce him in the Chunnin exams.

In her defense, the identity within Anbu was highly valued and something totally classified, she could die working alongside Sai, and never find out. That is why, as much as it would make Ino very happy to subtly rub her rating on Sakura's face, she had to be quiet, because the risk of being downgraded or condemned to downtime in the Anbu ranks was not worth the price.

To this day, the only ones who had full knowledge of the mask resting in her closet were Shikamaru and Naruto, for their top management positions in the village - and because, well, she was sleeping with one of them and the other was a master at figuring out tiny things about Ino. - and the elders of her clan. And there was Neji, who knew this from the first second, on the first mission when he led his three-man killer squad.

It was ridiculous that she had found out about Neji by an insightful analysis of the smell of the shampoo on his hair, and not something super smart and thorough as he probably figured it out.

It had been embarrassing, when she noticed during Hinata's birthday, after a mission, that Neji's hair smelled like herbs in exactly the same way as her captain the other day.

It turns out that in the end, it seemed that the skills of the two were composing favorably, and the Hyuuga-Yamanaka pairing became recurrent in high-ranking murder or reconnaissance missions, the positive active indices being a major influence on the success of the two.

Beside that, they did not interact socially, not for lack of will, but Neji was always very busy with his things and she with hers.

So when Sakura asked what the hell she was doing with Neji, she didn't quite know what to say.

And minutes later when he led her by the wrist through the streets of Konoha, she also didn't know what to do, or how to deal with the curious looks.

Not that she had many options, she didn't want to cause a scene - bigger - and in the end she also wanted to know what it was all about, if Ino could trust her life with him, she could certainly go on to see what was going on.

Even though it was boring, they were already far from the center, and she had other things to do.

"What is the problem?" She asked impatiently when he sat down on the grass after an abrupt halt. They were on an isolated training ground, and Ino studied her surroundings for some time before sitting down next to him, eyebrows raised.

She had never been here, but Ino knew that the Hyuuga compound was only a few kilometers away, it was probably some kind of private field, the lawn was in impeccable condition, which was unusual.

Neji looked serious, but again he was always like that, nothing new.

"Ino, you're going to be nominated for a special mission." He said and Ino frowned.

"So what? I always do special missions."

Neji remained imperturbable, not a muscle moving, and if it weren't for the intrinsic professionalism that he always treated everything, Ino would think it was some joke, or he was doing some prank to have some time alone with her.

As much as they did recurring missions in pairs, it was not something definitive, they had their own solo missions.

"You will be nominated for a special mission with Uchiha Sasuke for behavioral analysis. I want you to decline."

He was succinct and Ino almost had to lean over to be sure of what Neji had said, her dismayed expression wavering a little before settling down in shock, wide blue eyes.

"What?"

"You were not the first nominee. Your cousin was, and two more Anbus sealing specialists, but they all refused under the premise of unavoidable danger. The Konoha council indicates that the Uchiha heir is active again for the benefit of the village, our ninja coefficient. is far below average, and Uchiha Sasuke passed all health tests and received approval from Ibiki. He will be presenting for an Anbu position. "

"Ibiki didn't say anything to me." She spoke, finding it inevitable to show her surprise in the tone of her voice. "This is ridiculous, the man is a state traitor."

"I know."

"Giving someone of this type an opportunity in high office is setting a precedent for dozens of sociopaths, it's irresponsibility."

"I know."

"And I am not indicated to go on a mission with Uchiha Sasuke, I cannot agree with that, and I will end up compromising the mission by trying to kill the last Uchiha in the world."

Ino blinked out of her daze when she felt Neji hold her wrist again, this time much more gently, his dull eyes staring at her with a tension that was usually not there.

"I know, Yamanaka. That's why I need you to resign. It's a dangerous mission to test the Uchiha's skills, test his momentum. The death rate is extreme, 76%. If you refuse I will be next in line . "

Ino narrowed her eyes, pulling her wrist back.

"Do you want me to resign because it goes against your values or because you think I'm not capable, Hyuuga?"

This seems to have confused Neji, a puzzled look that Ino would have found comical in any other situation where she was not controlling the anger that threatened to boil.

"It's not safe, Ino. If I thought your skills were not satisfactory, I would have waived your assistance on classified missions more than a year ago. That is not the case."

"Wave my assistance?" She hissed, rising quickly as if the ground was on fire, staggering a little as she stumbled over a spare tree root.

"That is not what I meant. It is an unnecessary risk, Yamanaka, regardless of who is the shinobi who accompanies him. They want to push the limit on Uchiha actions ... I'm just concerned about your life!"

"It's an unnecessary risk unless the ninja is you Neji !? To hell with my ninja ethic, after all maybe I will accompany Uchiha, apparently I am very used to going on missions with arrogant prodigies and doing very well with that."

Ino snarled between her teeth, her eyes icy on Neji's face. Noting that the uncomfortable silence was getting thicker, she made a hand signal too quickly to be natural, her body crumbling into a bunch of lilac flower petals.

Neji fisted his hands, finding it very difficult to contain his anger without punching anything. He hadn't planned it, although Yamanaka had an unpredictable temperament, he didn't think it was so ... childish.

Ino was his mate, and although they didn't have as close ties as he did with Tenten and Lee, he still didn't want to lose anyone else by stinginess. Uchiha's mission was a suicide mission, and he didn't mean that she wasn't capable, just that the level of difficulty was not compatible.

Shit, his verbal ease had implied things he didn't mean.

And yes, in the potential of death, he preferred that he was the guy who would die. It was not a hero complex, but he had less to lose, and his role had already been played.

And now Yamankaa's misunderstanding was going to lead her into a potentially murderous trap and he had unconsciously helped push that.

Folding his legs, his face upset in an expression of measured anger, Neji closed his eyes, thinking it was a good opportunity to meditate and avoid hurting anyone. Really hard.

.

.

.

Ino hit the hard bark of the tree repeatedly, alternating between kicks and strong punches, taking care not to use any chakra, the taijutsu skills kicking in, while the knots of the hand burned with the cuts in the skin.

Eventually the tree trunk broke, falling in the opposite direction, heavy breathing coming out between her cracked lips, feeling tired but not satisfied. The chakra burned inside her stomach, and she felt an incredible urge to put Tsunade's training back into action and create some holes in the ground, just to get rid of the sting.

Sliding to the floor, she rested her head on her palms, the salt of sweat reacting with the wounds, swallowing the dry lump in her throat.

Perhaps she had exaggerated and put on more drama than necessary. She understood Neji, it wasn't like she could really compare her skills with a Uchiha prodigy, not like she didn't know that there was a reason why Neji was a captain since he was eighteen, indicated for that since he was sixteen.

Ino was a great ninja, with exceptional skills, at a young age she had already entered history, she was a daughter of fire - if that was worth anything - and had impressive marks since the ninja academy. These were not things she resented, although she was watching for constant evolution.

Still, Sasuke and Neji were still at a high level, and maybe one day she would be able to catch up with them, though, not now.

But to have it thrown in your face was irritating to say the least, and Neji should have known it when he practically put her as a sidekick. A naked truth, therefore, was difficult to swallow.

Damn, she was so stressed.

Maybe that was why Uchiha looked at her so strangely earlier. What a sucker.

Sliding her finger through her pants pocket, hands still trembling reasonably from the aggression of the blows and the open bruises, she took out the parchment scroll and small book.

It was not a training camp, or some minimally safe place, but she felt it was ideal.

She didn't care much about the rules, but she felt that she needed to abide by them before leaving for the scrolls. Scraping her fingernail on the book cover to feel the roughness, Ino opened it, seeing the small but widely spaced letters fill the yellowed leaves.

The first ten pages told a complete story of the Yamanaka clan, something she had grown up listening to, but found herself reading anyway, afraid that she might miss something important there.

She needed to know where she was going and what she was playing with.

The last page was an explanatory list with rules and Ino found herself taking a finger to her mouth, taking it off quickly when she noticed the involuntary movement, the nail biting addiction a horrible habit developed recently that she detested with disgust.

_1\. The heterogeneity of the lineage must remain pure. Chief Yamanaka can never mix his homogeneity. Marriage with a passable pole is essential. Marriage between persons of the same family may be permitted only to the degree of cousins._

_2\. The most powerful figure within the clan is that of the Chief or Leader, and his power can only be vetoed in the event of unanimity of all elder members and internal voting with all general members of the clan._

_A. Only members born of at least one pure-blooded Yamanaka are considered to be a general member of the clan._

_3\. The death of a chief without direct hereditary succession, must be transferred to the next living family member who demonstrates an interest and ability that meets the criteria imposed by the elders._

_4\. The elders will be the oldest members of the clan, who have guaranteed and documented historical records._

_5\. All children born to the Yamanaka clan must have Shinobi initiation._

_6\. For the Chief's heirs, Shinobi training must begin at 5 years of age or earlier._

_7\. Betrayal of the clan, regardless of who it is, must be avenged by death._

Ino looked away from the paper a little, biting the inside of her cheeks as she thought.

There were still more than twenty continuous lists of administrative and legislative rules, behavioral rules - from 'how to behave the first night after the wedding' to 'how to name your children'.

The first seven had already made her frown so many times that she thought her skin was crying at the possibility of wrinkles.

It's not like she's planning her wedding in a little while, but knowing that she had a limited choice in every mediocre aspect of her life was ridiculous.

Ino didn't even know that she actually had no option of being shinobi or not, her father hadn't been clear about it, but she only assumed that he would be clean if she just wanted to work at the store and get away from kunais.

So if one day she wanted to have children, there was no choice between placing the child in the ninja world or not.

It took her a few more minutes to finish legislative duties, an even bigger headache. When she took the jutsu scroll in her hand, she wondered if she would be able to end it with proper mental health.

"None left." Murmured with a shrug.

Ino felt the chakra dance around her body, letting some of it slide into her palm.

She knew it was a common function for classified scrolls, which would only open up to the specific identification of the wearer's chakra.

When the parchment unfolded smoothly she noticed the golden broaches, five sheets rolled together with practical illustrations of hand signs and body positions.

The first page was a manuscript in what appeared to be made of charcoal, and looking for the signature on the first page, she recognized the name of Yamanaka Ino. Well, not her, but as, the first living Yamanaka who had given birth to her own name.

Yamanaka Ino, the original. From centuries, almost millennia past.

Looking around just to make sure she was in an inhospitable place in the forest of death, Ino turned her eyes to the words on the paper. Well, the guy Ino had a horrible handwriting, and she thanked her father for teaching her how to decipher the ancient runes in order to understand all that.

_"If you are reading this, it is because the Yamanaka clan still runs on my blood, and I have succeeded in keeping us alive through it all._

_Life as I know it is very difficult, and every day we fight tireless battles to be able to continue doing this. I have three lovely wives and eleven children who depend on me._

_Inoia, my eldest son, I hope you are the one who received these scrolls. I know that for years you looked at me as a personal hero, and I'm sorry that I couldn't teach you everything I know._

_I am the first Yamanaka. For years I dedicated everything to studying only the power of the mind. And I did it. I unlocked ninety-eight percent of my mental capacity. "_

Ino's eyes widened, surprised by this. She had only thirty-four percent of her mental capacity released, and her father, who was one of the greatest shinobi she knew in the area, was thirty-six, and that was a lot. It was impossible to reach such a high number.

She wouldn't be so surprised with fifty percent, she expected it from a big guy like the original Ino, but ninety-eight percent was absurd. Almost unbelievable.

_"Inoia, I couldn't have taught you this way before. You need to learn it yourself, but, I leave you the map so you can follow the road to this full knowledge._

_I'm sorry, son, for not being able to dedicate myself to this family. I plan a grand future for our name, a future in which we can spread our technique for the sake of peace between our worlds._

_The power you will learn is extreme, incredible, but dangerous, like everything around us, Inoia._

_I will give you a technique that will make you a powerful man. This is a gift that no one should ever know. This technique, unlike everything I taught you, must be secret, even for ours._

_Only the heir of pure lineage can carry this in his hands._

_Now, the fullness of the mind, my son, you must be prepared to know, and I cannot say that I will succeed._

_Have you ever imagined being able to play with people's minds? I'm not saying to control your conscience, as we do with all of our other jutsu. I'm saying to be able to totally possess it, create illusions, cause pain without touching someone's body. "_

_It's a new world._

_You must be responsible and good. A Yamanaka destroys with the mind, but works with a clean heart and soul. "_

This for Ino was totally unbelievable. I mean, she could believe it, it was believable, she had already seen a lot of power within her few years of life. Naruto was a formidable shinobi, Uchiha Sasuke despite a donkey, too. All she lived through in the ninja war was a combination of powers from inhuman levels.

But the power that old Ino spoke of was tangible and it left her static for long minutes, just looking once and twice at the ancient symbols on the page.

Ino was comfortable with her clans' practice of jutsu, and as much as the perpetuation was mind possession, she knew that was not what they were doing. She knew, she had learned in the introductions before she even entered the academy.

The Yamanakas seized the conscience of other people, exchanging for their own, as in the case of Shintenshin, or as the Shinranshin that attacked the opponent's nerve endings.

She used this in T&I, and the most she had ever managed to do in someone's mind, was to capture memories of the unconscious when there was no resistance, or the transmission of thoughts as in war.

It was the most she could do about someone's mind. They could only reach a shallow edge, which was more than any other would ever reach, but it was still little.

They were very good readers who had found a way to manipulate through the chakra a confused consciousness of people, and a malleable part of the human mind.

Like in her battle with Sakura in the Chunnin exams. If she really had access to the girl's mind, she would have shut down her body long before she started to travel in the delicate past that destabilized Ino.

By God, Sakura was brilliant but she was a mediocre ninja back in those years, with no specialization in any matter, no taijutsu, no genjutsu, nothing! No lineage advance!

She didn't like to think about these things.

Feeling a corner of her lips pull up in an easy smile, Ino let her body shudder with excitement.

Learning techniques was always fun, and she could admit that she had a good facility with learning anything from her clan. Now the deadline notice that the elders had imposed didn't seem that scary.

Unrolling the next sheet, Ino saw that the technique was passed on as if it were a manual with steps by steps.

The first line was clear.

Get a considerable intelligence animal for training.

Wait, what?

Ino looked around stunned. Well, she was in a forest, the forest of death above all, surely there were thousands of weird specimens defying biology here, but of considerable intelligence? She didn't think so.

"Oh well, I have Karatsukoya!" Ino exclaimed realized with the idea.

Karatsukoya was an invocation that Ino had signed the contract after joining Anbu. If she was going to be honest, she had done it just because Sakura had it with the Sannin slug and Ino was so jealous, and even though Tsunade later offered her the contract too, Ino vehemently denied, knowing it was just a Hokage's crude way of demonstrating non-existent impartiality.

When Ino ran into Karatsukoya, a petulant and intelligent crow, she shone.

He was smart as hell, and even though she rarely summoned him, when needed in the middle of a mission, a black raven was discreet enough not to be noticed by anyone. In addition, when depositing sufficient chakra, Karatsukyu, a huge version of the black bird was invoked ready to flap wings and carry Ino on its head. Much better than a sticky slug.

Okay, now she was just being mean to Sakura's Katsuyu.

Ino bit the tip of her thumb, bringing her five fingers to the floor for Karatsukoya's successful invocation.

"Kara!" She said happily, the crow landing in front of her.

"Yamanaka? It's daytime." He hooted miserably, looking confused.

"I need help with something classified. It is not a mission, I am learning a new technique and I need a guinea pig."

"No way. I'm an invocation of battle, for God's sake!"

"Please. I need someone smart." Ino whined.

"I know that humans are not great thinkers, but-"

Ino raised her hand, cutting off its development. She felt a hot manifestation of chakra approaching and when she saw that Karatsukoya was silent, the same hand slid to her thigh, grabbing a kunai, her body falling to a defensive position, her eyes attentive to any movement.

Karatsukoya flapped wings and landed on her shoulder, feeling Ino's muscles stiffen beneath him.

"Yamanaka Ino." A muffled voice echoed close to her, and Ino turned her body quickly, the blade in her hand stopping dangerously close to the sticking of an Anbu man standing, his expressionless mask watching her. "Hokage-Sama requires your presence."

He simply said, and Ino squinted, waiting for some time before finally relaxing her grip, nodding before the agent disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I love how things work here in Konoha." Karatsukoya said.

"I need to go, sorry for taking your time."

"No way, I'm going with you. It smells like drama."

Ino rolled her eyes, leaning over to collect her things and put them back in her pocket, making sure the scrolls were safe and out of reach of Karatsukoya's eyes.

"Tsunade is the one with giant breasts, right?"

."You're an animal."

"That was kind of racist."

.

.

.

Ino wondered what Tsunade wanted when Anbu appeared in front of her, Neji's words hammering in the back of her head, but that didn't stop her from having to struggle to suppress the surprise when she saw Uchiha Sasuke next to Naruto and Shikamaru in the Hokage's office, a longing to have the Anbu mask to hide her emotions in those moments.

Ino stretched out her fingers and closed them again, feeling the cracking of the joints, another subtle escape habit she had created for nervousness.

For a moment she became aware that she looked like a loud and scratchy mess, and even more so from the watchful eyes of the three known men who followed her movements. Ino only returned to orbit reality again when she felt the rough touch of Kara's long nails on her shoulder.

"Tsunade-sama." She greeted, feeling her mouth dry.

"Ino, please have a seat."

"I am fine."

"Sit down."

Ino clenched her jaw and obeyed, crossing her legs. She felt Kara move on her shoulder, which caught Tsunade's attention.

"Are you walking with birds now?"

"The best kind." Kara was quick to respond.

"Why am I here, Hokage-Sama?" Ino asked, casting a pointed look at where the men remained too silent.

"Yamanaka, I will be quick with this. There is a possibility of reinstatement of Uchiha Sasuke in the konoha ninja ranks. He is the last living ninja of an exceptional kekkei genkai lineage, but Ibiki will only present formal behavioral release after monitored approval by a ninja of his trust on a high-ranking mission. "

"It is a high-grade mission compatible with the Uchiha's abilities, not yours." Shikamaru added, and Ino understood that he was as optimistic about the idea as Neji was earlier, and for some reason this prompted her more to consider the proposal.

"... thanks, Shikamaru." Tsunade hissed, not looking happy with the interruption. "You are one of Ibiki's nominations, and although it was not my first choice, you are heartily recommended by the intelligence squad, congratulations for that Ino."

"What is the tacit information about the mission and what does it imply for me?" Ino asked, ignoring the passive praise.

"The information can only be transmitted after acceptance, Ino, but you will be the leader responsible for the positive execution of the mission and will provide a daily report of Uchiha Sasuke's behavior. In the end, allied to Ibiki's reports, the decision to reintegrate of Sasuke will be evaluated. "

"Duration of the mission?"

"Two weeks, maximum."

Ino looked up at Shikamaru, who was serious, the hazel orbs looking like they wanted to say something to her. God how she missed him.

Then she ran to Naruto, who was strangely still, totally out of character.

Ino understood, by her deductive power and body language, that Naruto was avoiding becoming a turning point for her choice, too loyal to omit when his best friend needed him, but too kind to influence Ino with a dangerous responsibility.

If the roles were reversed, she would probably do the same.

And finally, she looked at Uchiha Sasuke, who did not seem embarrassed to look back, although much less aggressive than any other opportunity they had to meet.

Ino stared at him, trying to use any method of intimidation she knew, which obviously didn't work with Uchiha, looking for any flaws in the marble expression, any indication of emotion.

She had seen him this week more times than in all the years after the war. Twice.

Before that, she methodically took the opposite path of his presence, not thinking that he was worth enough effort to guarantee her warmth.

In the end she gave up, looking back at Tsunade who was waiting patiently for an answer.

"Think about it, Ino." Shikamaru appealed, an impressive urgency in his voice.

Ino was not inconsequential, or stupid by the way. Her situation was not limited to just blind anger against the Uchiha, or everything he represented in an obviously flawed system like Konoha's.

But if she went on a two-week mission, she would be sabotaging her own training. Or her own life.

She could positively find time to train in those two weeks, she was familiar enough with high-ranking missions to be able to manage her opportunities.

But if the risks were so worrying, she was playing her life on the board, and risking the welfare of her clan. Not that she doubted her cousin's management integrity to run things in case something happened to her, no, he was clean, but it should be her.

On the other hand, she really wouldn't trust anyone to perform the mission properly and be able to judge Uchiha Sasuke. As much as she was not impartial and had a deep resentment towards the man, she was still a Shinobi of Konoha, and her interests were negligible and totally ignored alongside the interests of the village, she understood that and would not allow anger to blind her principles.

Even Neji couldn't take it so seriously, the ambiguity between the geniuses of Uchiha and Hyuuga would be a dangerous conflict, and she knew that Neji was too skeptical about Konoha's intentions to make Sasuke's life a priority.

It was a losing race anyway.

The interests of the village and the interests of her clan.

Either way, she would be risking something she loved.

"I accept."

In the back of her mind, the mantra of "whatever is to be, will be" hummed in a relieving premise, as if it were loosening a suffocating knot that held her.

* * *

**Ok guys, so I'm officially back.**

**First: I AM LOOKING FOR A BETA READER THAT CAN HELP ME IN GRAMMAR AND FANFIC AGREEMENT, so if someone qualifies, I'm here! haha ha**

I need to talk about some considerations before the pathetic excuses I have for you:

This is the last introductory chapter of the fic, which I like to call "flat arc", which is necessary in every well-structured fanfic. It's where you can see how things are going, the main character's molded personality, and everything is basically an explanation with little dialogue development, as if it were the arrows that indicate the direction of the story.

In the next chapter the real action begins and I promise it is more fun than it has been so far.

I chose to write Ino with this realization that the Yamanaka are not super mutants with mental powers, but with a more real development on how they use these Jutsus. I did a lot of heavy research on their lineage, and it all refers to a use of the opponent's conscience, not the mind itself, so I brought it here, and I want to build on that.

I always read these fanfics where Ino enters people's minds, walks around them, reads thoughts and etc., and I really want to get to that point of skills with her, but I don't think that happens instantly.

So yes, Ino will be powerful, but she will have to work hard to get there. Naruto took all the anime to reach the fullness of his ability, she will not do that overnight.

NOW THE POOR EXCUSES: I'm really sorry to be gone, I was in an intense block, and I started another project to unlock my creativity. I don't LOVE this chapter of Yamanaka Complex !, but I think it's ok enough that I can proceed to a more enjoyable phase.

I really appreciate all the support, and I love how it received such great comments! I will be more diligent from now on, I promise.

It really gives me enough energy to continue.

The quarantine here is sad, and we quickly became a country infected with Covid-19, which is horrible. I'm working from home, and it gave me time to start writing a lot, which is great.

If you like this, please read: **The sea we love!**, a beautiful work that I started

**-Gabriella**


	4. Chapter 4 part I

Ino gasped, changing her route by centimeters in order to avoid the kunai that flew towards her, scraping her cheek. Her breathing was thin and the simple deep inhalation of air made her body tremble in pain. She knew she must have several broken ribs and there was something very wrong with her windpipe, the metallic taste of blood on her tongue as the bile slid back down her throat. But what worried her most was the fucking sword in her belly.

She knew from experience in cases she had witnessed with Tsunade that removing the fucking blade from her body would be the worst case scenario now, but she couldn't see a positive outlook in which she would be able to extract it with the proper medical care, because that shit was going to clot and she could already feel her senses slowly fade as she hopped through the trees trying to keep her conscience alert.

Her sensory perception was confused, but from the kunais that whistled past her ear, there was a ninja on her back and she had no idea where the hell Uchiha was.

_Sasuke is dead_. A voice in her head whispered in a sadistic omen.

"Shut up," she snarled, gasping at the wave of pain.

"You can't run forever, princess." A malicious voice called from the rear.

Ino ignored him, an urgent look at the wound in her belly. She needed to deal with it urgently, get rid of the guy on her back and try to survive.

She didn't know if he was alone. Probably not, his ninja skills were superfluous, she could tell by his shameful aim at shooting kunais and losing even when Ino was walking in a straight line, but again, in her situation she barely managed to notice the presence of this guy if it weren't the chakra nonsense he was putting on when trying to increase his speed.

Ino was exhausted, she couldn't keep up with more than two men, and the risk of having the hell katana moved from her body would kill her before she could send everyone to fuck hard.

Slowly the forest opened, less trees until they were so far away that Ino was forced to use some chakra to boost her jumps and reach the branches between them. The light was getting stronger, and if Ino hadn't been in agony in pain in the omen of her certain death, she could almost have joked about being the damned light at the end of the tunnel.

But God had no favorites, and even if he did, she was certainly not on the priority list, because instead of the village she was hoping to see at the end of the fork - what would be her only possible lifeline - a gigantic cliff forced her stop.

Below, a quiet stream was snaked by sharp rocks in a fall of more than five thousand meters.

She was dead.

Literally, she could feel like she was going to pass out any second, and she had enough medical education to know that her body would burn up in no time, each breath becoming more difficult and rare, as she tried to avoid ... breathing, not to feel the mind-boggling pain.

It was literally the cross and the sword, and she was going to die anyway.

And yet, while preparing to die, she couldn't even think about her friends or her clan, not even about reuniting with her father, anything else, because in the end her thoughts kept going back to the Uchiha and what had happened with him.

Sakura was going to lose, and in that moment the 13-year-old Ino would be jumping, because if the Uchiha was really dead, she would spend more time with him than anyone else.

In hell.

Unfortunately, Ino now was feeling the pain that would have made her shit in her pants, if it weren't for the rest of the dignity she managed to maintain.

"Come on, kitty kitty."

Ino looked up, a red streak trembling in her vision and a loud ringing in her ears. Still, she managed to see the ninja, a tall, muscular man with a disturbing smile of happiness on the ugly face.

It had all started so well to end like this.

.

.

.

Ino smiled genuinely at Shikamaru's concerned face.

Usually, no one had done these melancholy goodbyes in years, since the time of gennin. When she left for a mission it was just a monotome goodbye to Jounnin guarding the gate, and a complacent look at the village.

But Shikamaru was there, Naruto too.

She knew that Sakura would tear her own skin if she knew she wasn't at the farewell club on a prominently perilous mission that included the love of her life and her - she was going to risk it here, because she didn't know if she had already been replaced - best friend.

But the mask she had lifted and rolled to the back of her head so that Shikamaru could see her face carried the weight of an elite ninja's anonymity.

"Be careful, troublesome." Shikamaru murmured, his face serious despite the intense eyes staring at her. Ino didn't need words to understand.

"Don't worry, I'm grown up now, Shika." She replied with a comforting pat on his shoulder.

"I mean it." Shikamaru moved a little, blocking her view of where Naruto was talking to Uchiha. "Ino, if you think things are going to the left ... give up. Give up on the mission, come back, don't complete it."

Ino frowned.

"I will not do it."

"I'm serious, Ino." Shikamaru grabbed her elbow, hazel eyes penetrating hers until she got a little dizzy at the staring game.

Usually Shikamaru was not that serious for no reason. The last time she saw the severe intonation was in the revenge they had set for the Akatsuki after Asuma-sensei's death.

But then again, the whole sentimental drama was one of the reasons why she avoided warm goodbyes before a mission.

"If it's too much, I will." She honestly agreed with a nod.

"Please trust me." He repeated, a significant squeeze on her arm.

"I will, I told you." Ino rolled her eyes and hugged him to end the matter, the aroma of tobacco and mint filling her nose with a comforting smell. Shikamaru would always be Shikamaru, even if everything changed between them, it was still their safe haven.

They parted with Nara's tense look on his face, a curious hesitation as it looked like he wanted to say something.

"Ino!" Naruto caught their attention and automatically Shikamaru moved away, far enough to give them some privacy. Ino was embarrassed by the thoughts that the friend might be having but fanned them for now.

"Hey." She greeted with a friendly smile, finding it cute the way the boy tripped a little on his feet when he stopped in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to do this, they didn't leave me. I feel... I didn't want you to go, but..." Naruto stammered, the words coming out faster than he could think.

"Naruto, it's okay. It is our duty, we are ninjas." She reassured him, surprised by the whirlwind of feelings that his blue eyes presented all at once. "Calm down."

It was funny how this Naruto was so different from the Naruto she had been watching during the war. That Naruto was scary, powerful, almost as if he could carry the world in both hands in his own way. This Naruto looked like a worried boy, full of feelings exploding like an expressive canvas. And there was still Naruto who appeared in the middle of her sheets, full of desire.

She had learned to appreciate all sides of Naruto.

"I trust Sasuke ... please trust him, nothing is going to happen to you." He finished gently, tucking Ino's hair behind her ear, in such an intimate affection that she stirred in discomfort.

I will ignore that you said that, I can take care of myself, Naruto. "She said crossing her arms, suddenly very aware of her hair. Usually on missions she would hold it in a heavy bun at the top of her head, without the characteristic strand covering it. It was more comfortable and easier to deal with in the undefined weather conditions she used to face, but she had left with her thoughts so clouded that she had barely put a care on her hair.

"I know ..." Naruto hesitated a little but sighed, timidly pulling her into a hug. "I know."

Naruto's body felt different, the hug touched her nerves other than Shikamaru. It took Ino a few seconds in surprise to wrap her arms around him too, returning the contact suddenly, her own body softening a little with the familiarity of the touch.

Naruto was like a nice place that she liked to be in, but her head didn't like the barriers that were being crossed here.

She would have to reorganize the signs when she returned, dealing with the feelings that Uzumaki seemed to be developing would not be easy.

"I gotta go." Ino murmured disconcerted, raising a thumb to appease the whole melancholy scene. "When I get back you pay me Ramen in Ichiraku."

Naruto smiled brightly, although the smile did not reach his eyes, and raised a thumb as well.

"I will introduce you to the best flavors in the Fire Country, Ino-chan!"

.

.

.

At first the silence was very pleasant, but after five hours it was unbearably maddening. Even Neji, in his mild stillness, spoke at least one decent sentence here and there, but Uchiha looked like a dumb puppet.

Ino loved introspective moments, but her thoughts were so messy that she could use a little distraction to not have to really _deal _with it, even if it was from Uchiha.

"Did you read the mission scrolls?" She tried, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

Uchiha nodded.

Ino pursed her lips. She felt like her 13-year-old self again, asking for his attention. She refused to play that role again.

Turning her eyes forward, Ino tried to calculate how long it would take them to deplete their energies before needing to force a stop to camp. Ino knew that the Uchiha probably had a bigger chakra reserve than hers, but she wasn't going to be worn out by pride, she knew better than that.

As she lost herself in random thoughts, Sasuke looked at her austerely. He never in his life thought he would be on a mission with Yamanaka Ino, much less in an inferior position. It was outrageous and totally _inappropriate_.

In fact, he had only recently recalled the existence of Yamanaka. The blonde's presence was not recurrent in everyday life, and he was not stupid not to notice that the woman avoided any event with his presence.

The first time she actually stayed for more than five minutes in the same place as he, was when Sasuke remembered that this was Yamanaka Ino, the scandalous girl who continually harassed him when he was younger.

He remembered that she used to follow him around Konoha, cooked cakes and sweets that he never ate, invited him to train at least four times a week - even when he continually rejected her over and over - and left bouquets of flowers at his house on his mother's birthday. And it was only because of the latter that he complacently waited a few minutes to wrench her off his back when she decided to squeeze him. Something she had always rubbed in Sakura's face.

He would have expected Yamanaka to become some average kunoichi due to misrepresented interests, but apparently she had grown up enough to join Anbu, and her personality no longer seemed as scandalous as he remembered.

"There is a stream here, we must fill the reservoir with water for when we pass through the desert." Sasuke said blandly, drawing Ino's attention.

For a second she thought how he could know this, but realized in time that Sasuke should have known many places in the years away from Konoha.

It was kind of weird to think about it. She couldn't imagine leaving Konoha for any reason but for a mission. Actually, Ino thought she had never been anywhere without an urgent reason to do so.

To think of Sasuke doing this without any connection to the village was kind of painful. As if the word renegade really made sense that time.

He had denied his entire life for a personal purpose. His friend's lifes.

Damn, she hated getting lost inside her own head.

"We must." She agreed, turning to where he had pointed, landing on the ground when she saw the clean water of the stream running. "Give me yours."

Ino held out her palm and Sasuke raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

"Your bottle. We don't have all day." She spoke, arching her own eyebrow, even though neither of them could see each other's faces behind the masks.

Sasuke still took a few seconds before handing over his flask, watching carefully as she crouched on the bank of the stream, took her bottle from her waist and submerged it in the water against the current, doing the same thing with his after that. But in the end, instead of returning his water after filling it, Ino placed the two bottles on her belt.

"In missions of more than two days of travel the supplements stay with the leader." She explained as she doused her neck with the icy water of rapture, feeling Sasuke's eyes on her back.

"This is stupid." He spat.

"I don't make the rules, I just follow it." Ino shrugged, standing up.

She also didn't like the rule, the first time Neji did this to her, Ino almost bit his head off. But now she understood the pleasure of being on the other side of the character.

Sasuke didn't argue, but Ino could practically feel he closing himself back in his shell, much more closed than before. She almost felt bad, but Uchiha was not going to receive any personal treatment. If he wanted to be a Konoha Shinobi again, he should have known that there were much more difficult rules that he would need to follow.

"Come on." Ino murmured, walking past him.

"This is not the direction." Sasuke said in an angry growl, taking the opposite way, too fast for her to even contest.

Ino blinked in surprise, feeling her face heat up, checking some location points before accepting that the Uchiha was indeed right, accelerating her step to take the lead, a wave of humiliation making her body tense as she went shoulder to shoulder with him.

To tell the truth Ino had never led a mission before. She had not applied or been nominated for the promotion as Captain Anbu to lead any team, her duo missions were usually with Neji, or someone higher up than hers. Even back in team 10, although she proclaimed her absolute sovereignty as the team leader, it was undeniable that the head thinking had always been Shikamaru.

As much as she liked to portray an image of authoritarian leadership, the only thing Ino had led so far, had been her clan. And she was not handling it very well.

Sasuke never looked at her again, always looking at the trees ahead, a thick fog of discomfort and aggression that only dissipated hours later when miles had passed. Enough to push thoughts of water behind their heads.

She could have explained that supplements were important, and that moderate control was needed, but that this did not prevent him from being free to request water or food when he felt the need.

That the system only foresees a hardness of control so that in fact it would not be lacking until the moment when the objective was completed.

But she didn't like the Uchiha that much to offer a sensible explanation.

Even because she believed that ninjas didn't need to have food supervision, those who couldn't control their own water should be at home reading magazines, not on a mission.

But she wasn't going to say that to him. If she had suffered from it, he was going too.

Eventually Ino offered the bottle back, asking if he was thirsty. Uchiha just looked at her before hissing a dry, cold "no".

His voice cracked a little, but she pretended not to hear.

She was not one to kick the injured dog.

.

The next time Ino and Sasuke had exchanged any words was night, when Ino found a place that looked good enough to rest in the middle of the forest, close to huge plants.

"They are Komodasias, the leaves are so thick that they are almost soundproofed. We are able to hear who is approaching, but it will be more difficult if any ninja passes through the trees to hear us." She spoke softly looking admiringly at the plants, running her fingers over the yellowed leaves. "I've only seen this in books before"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but he looked at the plants too.

It was dark, late in night when Ino finally had time for herself, the noise of small animals was almost a relaxing melody in her ears, it would be nice if it weren't for the horrible heat, as if they were in Suna, even though they hadn't yet passed through the village.

Ino took off her mask, feeling the accumulation of sweat on her face becoming impregnated in the porcelain. It was disgusting and she would have to clean that up before putting it back. Felt nice to finally be able to breathe without the accessory.

Her body was soaked in sweat, her hair stuck to the top of her head would be a damp disaster when she decided to drop the bun, and the Anbu armor looked like a torture chamber surrounding her body.

Unoing the metal supports, Ino got rid of all the heavy clothing, allowing herself to keep only the black tank and the high-waisted lycra shorts she wore under the uniform pants. And yet it seemed too much.

She rolled her shirt up just below her breasts and lowered the waistband of her shorts to her hips, sighing in relief when she felt some wind hit her exposed skin, visible signs of sunstroke finding refreshment in the breeze.

When Sasuke returned to the camp after collecting some low branches to make a fire, his eyes instinctively darted to the half naked Yamanaka leaning with her ass in his direction as she unrolled a sleeping bag on the floor.

It was the most strangely erotic image he had seen in a long time, since Karin surprised the Uchiha on a drunken night years ago wearing nothing but a tiny loincloth.

He would be happy with the sight if it wasn't Yamanaka Ino, who made as much effort as possible to demonstrate her dissatisfaction with his presence, and to whom he had no appreciation other than pure disgust since she had inadvertently stole his water bottle on a ridiculous pretext.

Still, he couldn't ignore the round piece of meat in front of him.

Sasuke cleared his throat, regretting the action in the same second that Yamanaka stood up and turned in his direction, the sight of her ass being replaced by meters of tanned skin on a flat stomach gleaming with sweat and the volume barely masked of breasts that seemed to want to get rid of the piece of clothe, as some fat protruded under the rim.

"Eyes up here." Ino said in a hard voice, immediately lowering the shirt and erasing the image in front of him.

Sasuke didn't respond, but walked over to her and dropped the dry branches, finding some fascinating satisfaction in how Ino's gaze didn't even deviate for a second from his, even though he noticed the hard line in her jaw in tension.

"We are not on a seduction mission, Yamanaka." He said looking at her openly from feet to head.

Ino narrowed her eyes, refusing to show any reaction in front of the Uchiha as the black orbs raced through her body, almost as if mocking. She had in fact gone on enough seduction missions to know how not to shiver while a man looked at her like that.

That was her game, and in it, Uchiha was not even a spectator.

With a scornful smile, Ino closed the distance between the two, ensuring that her breasts were close enough to Sasuke's hard chest, but without touching it.

"I see ... don't flatter yourself too much, Sasuke-kun ..." She trailed off, approaching his ear, smacking her tongue as she whispered. "If my mission was to seduce you ... I would have already committed Seppuku."

"Don't start something that you can't finish, Yamanaka." He murmured, forcing an approach, his voice hoarse from lack of use, noses touching, his hard expression looking dead in her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, I can finish this ..." She wet her tongue, moving her head a little, a sigh escaping her parted lips, blue eyes shining. But then suddenly, she laughed, waving her hand in front of her face. "I just don't want to."

Sasuke looked with disgust at where Yamanaka moved away, moving her hips more than necessary, returning to the job of unfolding the sleeping bag, although this time she was careful to kneel discreetly to do it.

He didn't think Yamanaka was really in the game. Sasuke was not one for perverted games of seduction, but seeing the teasing explicit in the woman's way, he was curious to see how she could take it.

Sasuke was not new to the Kunoichi 's special abilities, he had already seen one or two in action, but he could not tell if Yamanaka was really into this type of thing or was it just her petulant way.

He hated that the warm breath in his ear had actually reached some point in his body, hated how familiar his name sounded in Yamanaka's voice even though he hadn't heard it in years, and hated it even more that he had remembered it when he couldn't even remember of _her_ at all a week ago.

God, he was a man, and Yamanaka although was annoying as hell, was hot as the devil too, he needed to give it to her. He hadn't noticed with all the heavy uniform that the girl's body had developed and passed through times of absurd thinness to abundant curves.

" I'm going to take the first round, you sleep in the meantime." Ino said simply, looking at him before walking away through the trees.

Sasuke observed with some strangeness that she had indeed extended her sleeping bag to him. It's not like he was actually going to sleep, he didn't trust Yamanaka enough to let his guard down.

Not that the girl was threatening, but there could be well-trained ninjas who would love to find a sleeping Uchiha there.

Looking at the dry branches lying on the ground, Sasuke shook his head thinking of the uselessness of collecting this when the temperature was stupidly hot.

When he walked away, a bottle of water freshly stolen carefully from Yamanaka's hip, he had no decent idea to justify his withdrawal. After finishing with the water in a few sips, the dry branches seemed like a good enough excuse.

Taking off the top of his uniform, he sat down near a tree, where the grass seemed cooler, and closed his eyes, frowning at the noise of birds and the weird peace of being on a mission after years.

.

.

.

Ino looked at Karatsukoya.

"Something?" She eagerly asked

"Nothing." The bird hooted with a little flapping of its wings.

"I'm fucking doing exactly as it says!"

Ino moaned and fell on her ass, her back falling miserably against the trunk of a tree, the thick bark making her spine hurt, although she was too tired to care.

"Maybe I'm too smart to be your test animal." Kara said.

Ino just looked, sighing.

"I need to change the shift with Uchiha in a few minutes. I wanted to be able to progress on that today." She grunted, running her hand over her forehead to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen, wet with sweat.

She had been at it for almost three hours. The hand signals were perfect, her mind was clear. Well, in the first ten attempts she couldn't clear the strangeness of the scene with Sasuke earlier, trying to forget how the hell she had put herself in that situation.

Ino thought it would be fun to wash the arrogance out of the bastard's voice. She was melting from the heat, for God's sake. As if she would willingly want to seduce an idiot. And even if it were, she wouldn't have to show an inch of skin for that.

She didn't expect the Uchiha to actually participate in the thing, much less that he would react so comfortably to her body's attacks.

Anyway, in the first few times there might have been a reason for it not to work, but in the other seventy it should have worked perfectly.

Kara had no great objections, so she couldn't be the problem.

"I must be missing something, I don't understand!"

"If you don't understand, you must be missing something."

"I'm not kidding Karatsukyu." She sulked.

"Geez, calm down."

She was frustrated. The commands were clear, and she was following everything properly, as the manual indicated. Furthermore, if she did not follow the schedule she had prepared, she would have inconceivable delays until the elders' deadline.

Why the hell was she unable to do that?

"Yamanaka, what are you doing?"

Ino froze, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Sasuke looked puzzled, the peculiar note in his thick voice leaving him more threatening than usual.

"Oh Damn, the Konoha ninjas definitely have a difference." Kara ... whistled?

Ino looked confused, turning to the crow and then back to Sasuke, noticing the bare chest and built abdomen exposed.

Arching an eyebrow, she stood up, feeling her back creak in painful protest.

"I was going to call you." She said through clenched teeth, picking up her bag on the floor, quickly checking that the scrolls were safe.

Sasuke followed with black eyes, not losing the way her spine bent at an odd angle.

"Come here." He ordered, absorbing his own words a little too late.

Ino just frowned. His pale skin looked like a bright spot in the darkness, although his hair and eyes were lost in the landscape almost like a camouflage. Ino had to prevent her thoughts from falling too far to the left.

"Why? You come if you want something." Ino spoke, cursing mentally in the double sense of the words.

Sasuke didn't argue, but approached with slow steps, as if it were a lion cornering its prey, turning around Ino's body which perceptibly recoiled, her face confused.

Was it a sick joke about the little game earlier? A rematch? What a bad loser.

"You should be watching, not training. Your situation is going to delay us in the morning." He spoke coolly, placing one hand on her right shoulder and the other in the middle of her back, feeling the fabric of the T-shirt wet on his skin.

Ino winced at the heavy weight on her body, Sasuke was not being gentle using his abrupt strength. Opening her mouth to protest, her tongue quickly curled into a strangled groan as pressure made her body lean close, returning to the normal position before she could even scream in pain or surprise,

"What the hell was that?!"

Sasuke spared one last look before turning around.

"I have medical training, I could do this better." Ino spoke loudly on his back, her chin tilted in an offended position.

"Then you should have." He said, his husky voice too low to be heard as he disappeared from his sight of her.

"I don't know if it was scary or sexy, but please honey, keep calling me. I love it." Kara was perched on a low branch, feathers ruffled as he silently scoffed.

At least her back felt better, although the ghost of Uchiha's hands continued to bring painful chills down her spine.

part II to be continued...

* * *

And here we go.

So that was the first part of that chapter. I don't know what you guys think. I tried to put a little bit of interaction in this chapter, in order to be able to advance in both and still focus more on the mission in the next.

I really had a hard time adequately shaping Sasuke's personality. Ino is easier for me, even when she is darker than normal.

Give me feedback on what you thought was kind of out with Sasuke and what was good, so I can improve in the next chapter.

Despite that, I like how their relationship is shaping up. Ino doesn't really like Sasuke much, she can't easily get over what he did, and his presence is a constant reminder of the sins that the man committed.

Sasuke didn't even remember Ino until he really paid attention to her. I tried to be realistic about it, I think it's not as if Sasuke would really put a thought in Ino with all the things that happened, especially if she is not the same as he remembered when they were children.

Still, I love the realization that Sasuke NEVER pushed Ino when she was on his back, although Sakura was always kicked immediately when she tried to grab hold of his arm. I think there must be reasons behind it, although it went unnoticed by Kishimoto.

I think Sasuke would be curious about Ino having changed so much, especially when Sakura, who was similar, hasn't changed at all. We know that our Uchiha has a giant ego and that can bother him a little.

**megan: Yes! I love how tense Neji is too. He's an ice cube with feelings! :( In addition, the two went through great missions together, and with the difficulty of approaching the people that a Hyuuga has, surely those around should be preserved.**

**LeahMfkn'Clearwater: My dear! Glad you like. I decided to break the chapter into two parts, because a lot is going to happen, but I hope I won't disappoint. How is it going?**

**BJJF691: OMG what u mean?**

**HadeCharon93: Don't even tell me! I get so mad at the rough development with all the anime's kunoichis. Even Sakura who had a more advanced scenario is painted as useless. And the worst thing is that I fall for it, and I have a bitter heart for the pink lol, it is certainly not my favorite. But I love how Ino is unique and full of potential. I loved the comment, and I'm glad you liked it. I hope you continue to follow!**

**Guest1: You're welcome, dear! I only update because of the incredible comments you leave for me. I am nothing without readers!**

**Acronym: Neji has no social skills whatsoever, he is very tough. But I love him so much! Yes, Ino is very buried in the mud, but I think that these are obvious things that would happen in the anime if she had her own development. She is a Yamanaka heiress after all, a legacy from the T & i department, and ultimately, her skills are too perfect for Anbu to be ignored. I just put it all together! Hahaaha I love your comments dear friend, they always make me happy.**

**Guest2: Thank uuuu**

**HoneydeCM: I'm glad you liked it :)**

**Aya Kazuki: Thank you for your support ! :)**

**Mimi: I am grateful for the kindness of the comment dear: D**

**KuchiRuki: I'm happy, I like to write Ino as I would like her to follow during the anime.**

**Blacklivesmatter: I'm here! And yes, BLACK LIVES MATTER !**

**MinakoTrickster: I'm almost crying with your comment. Thank you very much, from the heart. I am very sad how Ino is portrayed as if she would simply outdo her father. They were so close, I think this would be a pain that she would never erase. In addition, I hate how they make it look like only the main characters have had big losses. In my view, Ino had only two important figures that she admired and stood out in life - and that really took care of her back - and both died. This is devastating. But I hope you enjoy the next chapters!**

**erikalu53006: hey u**

**blacksamuraigogo: OMGOMGOMG IM HEREEE DONT YELLLLLLL ! HAHA HA**


	5. Chapter 4 part II

Ino bit into a yawn for what seemed like the tenth time in ten minutes.

The interminable journey, the fruitless and repetitive training with the clan jutsus, and the stress were taking a brutal toll on her body, and she was being carried away with every minute that passed further into exhaustion.

It would take them another day to reach their destination, a village on the border of the Land of Wind, although she estimated that they had already passed through Suna in the west earlier in the morning, hundreds of kilometers ago.

The camp scene was much more chaotic than the night before, and Ino said a very quick but very desperate prayer to Kami to confirm the theory of her sense of location and that they were in fact almost crossing the country, because she would have a spontaneous collapse if she needed to sleep in the sand again.

Ino squinted to where the Uchiha had set up a kind of tent with a canvas that he pulled out of who knows where, the dark fabric almost like a gaudy point in the middle of the sandy terrain. It was so cold that her chin was quivvering involuntarily and the buffeting wind would not even allow a fire to be lit, providing a painful contrast to the searing, dry day that had burned her skin and forced her to wear a very good t-shirt wrapped around her head and on her face, as if she were a centenary hermit.

She hated Wind Country.

Much.

Ino remembered the embarrassed and platonic flirtations with the Kazekage when she was 16, which were stopped immediately the minute Ino actually had to spend more than a week in Suna during a mission.

It was actually a funny thing to remember the old pre-war days. That memory in particular was something that involuntarily pulled a smile on her face, the brazen advances she made in Gaara, , who seemed to accept and sometimes even return. Well, later Ino discovered thats this was just Gaara being polite, totally oblivious to what Ino's looks and flirtations meant.

In the end she thanked him for his social ineptitude, because nothing could have made her accept the miles of sand entering places completely outside her body.

The Uchiha, on the other hand, didn't seem so bothered by the wind carrying sharp grains all over his face, and was at that moment propped up on a dune, with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, despite the tent perfectly erected two centimeters from his side, ready to be used.

Ino could tell that he was not sleeping, even though he had been petrified in that same position for more than two hours.

She had left him in the first moments of her vigil to go behind another dune - well it was the only thing there, just one of several heaps of sand - and had repeated the same stupid training from the day before. When Ino returned - in tatters - the man was still unperturbed as if he were a wax doll.

It was almost inhuman.

Either way, she was tired, but her patrol shift was not close to ending.

Another gust rocked her body and this time she was unable to hide the faint yawning sound that escaped her mouth.

She was almost wishing that the Uchiha would provoke her in some way, with any kind of sarcastic comment, just to distract her for the remaining half hour so she could crawl into the perfect tent screaming her name. But he didn't move, not even an inch.

"Why are you out here?" She murmured grudgingly, admitting her defeat.

At first he did not answer, feeding the disturbing silence broken only by the shrieks and whistles of the wind, but when he eventually realized that Ino would not stop looking at him, he opened his eyes and looked at her, as if it were a stupid question.

"I don't trust you to keep guard." He said simply, and closed his eyes again.

Ino waited with a frown for a complement to the meaningless sentence, when she realized that there would be none.

"Wait, what? Are you watching me to make sure I'm watching?" Ino asked, incredulous.

"You leave in the first few minutes of your shift, then come back without any sense of alertness and with a scarcity of chakra that would make you the victim of a squirrel if it showed its teeth." He replied impassively.

"That's not true!" Ino replied, offended. "I'm aware of my job, I don't need a supervisor, thanks."

Sasuke opened his eyes again and uncrossed his arms, finally seeming to pay the least bit of attention to the kunoichi.

"I have enough knowledge about the area to know that the mercenaries in this region are thirsty for any silver coin. It surprises me that we have not been attacked so far, but we will be at some point, so I think it is ethical for you to drop your... one-sided fun, because I have a lot more chakra reserve than yours, but at one point or another I'll need to sleep and I won't be able to double shift to make sure your head isn't bitten off by a squirrel. "

Ino froze, her eyes opening a little more than usual, her mouth wide open as if she wanted to say something, although she couldn't come up with anything.

The hard cut in the Uchiha's voice had been a painful blow to her ego, and although the poisonous suggestion was very disparaging, he was not wrong. Of course, Ino would not be daunted by any petty attack, the Uchiha analogy being an idiotic understatement - she loved squirrels! - but her chakra reserves were indeed questionable, and although she trusted that no harm would come during her watch, she couldn't really guarantee it.

She was being negligent here, and she knew there was too much on her plate, which resulted in compounding the negligence. But she didn't think the Uchiha would notice that. Or care, for that matter.

Ino knew she could handle whatever was thrown at her, and she wouldn't die from a stupid attack in the middle of nowhere, but the bastard was not wrong. Damn him.

She didn't answer, choosing to lean against her backpack instead. Sasuke had already returned to his original position, making it clear that he was not expecting any response, or anything in general.

Ino felt uncomfortable, and although she knew she didn't need to defend her qualification and honor to someone like the Uchiha, she almost tripped over the words when she glanced at him.

"I wouldn't let you die here. Or me. Or anyone, during a mission, I meant," she murmured, kicking herself for her stupidity.

"You wouldn't want to leave, that doesn't mean it wouldn't happen." Sasuke replied after an awkward silence, and the deep voice, although it was not trying to be heard, sounded almost like thunder in Ino's ears. "Let it go, Yamanaka."

Ino bit the inside of her cheek and played with a handful of sand, regretting the feel of the sticky skin from the grains running down her joints.

"You know, years ago I would have died to be the girl on a mission with Uchiha Sasuke." She murmured, and frowned at herself in the same second. She didn't want to say it out loud, but it seems that her body was doing many things unintentionally.

Sasuke didn't say anything, nor did he show any recognition of the subject, and Ino thought that maybe he hadn't heard, even though that thought was more unpleasant than she would have imagined. For some reason, Ino felt an unusual need to be able to speak and be heard. She blamed the harrowing sensation of being in a place with lonely vibrations, like the desert was feeling in that moment.

When Ino resumed speaking, her voice was tired, like a constant hum, although her eyes were locked on a beetle that dug the earth beside her, not even seeming to be connected with what she was talking about.

"For many years you were the parameter that defined who I was. I chose the color of my clothes to match yours, and my appearance to please your taste. I tried to love tomatoes because you loved them, and I was so sad because I preferred cherry tomatoes much more than the ordinary ones. Even nowadays I am not in the habit of eating candies because you hated it, and I can't look at a stick of dango without remembering your grimace when I was younger. " Ino shook her head and looked away at the sky.

Sasuke didn't move, but opened his eyes, a tiny crease between his eyebrows indicating his unease with the facts. He was not ignorant of this, and he could remember one or two events back in his childhood that illustrated what Yamanaka was talking about. He just didn't understand how the subject had slipped into an emotional retrospective. Sasuke was sure that he had left no gap that could be diverted to the moment they were now. He was still gathering something to say that might excuse his presence when Ino spoke again, his mind too slow for her.

"I really did it all, but never in my ninja training. I was at the top of the class next to you, on my merit. _On my talent_. I was as good as you, sometimes better, much better. I was always 10 out of 10. My grades were impeccable, my skills were incredible, I had full knowledge of my clan's jutsus long before any other brat my age did. I knew how to possess someone's mind before you even woke up your sharingan. Oh, I know that, I wrote it down, I was happier for you than I was for my achievements, I had a note in my notebook so I could remember all the celebrations. A week, a month, a year of your sharingan, all because I knew how important it was to you. I never thought it was overkill, I had a family to care for me, and you had nobody. " Ino stopped her sentence too late, looking quickly at Sasuke, not insensitive enough to inadvertently hurt him. But he showed no reaction beyond the hard line on his lips. Ino could read a thousand meanings in his body language, but none that she could understand. "I wanted to be someone for you, so you could have someone in me."

She put her hand in the sand again, it was already dirty so it didn't matter, and it was a pleasant distraction. She needed to be distracted by something.

"But for some reason, you were the prodigy and I was the petty one. Equal skill was not enough. It was my fault. I let that happen." Ino said softly, realizing with surprise that she actually still remembered the past fondly, and not with the nausea of shame that she used to feel. "You grew up a powerful ninja. But what happened is that while you went down the despicable path of power, I had my own path. I am not weak, I never was, but without you as the icon to unconsciously determine who I should be, I think I was lost for a long time. Sometimes, I think I was happier before. In the meanness. But I am strong, and I am proud of it. "

Sasuke turned his face to look at her and the movement caught the attention of Ino, who turned her face to see him too. They stayed like that for long minutes, in silence, just looking, almost like strangers seeing each other for the first time.

Ino noticed how Sasuke's hair moved with the wind, Rinnegan's eye looking at her indecipherably. She found herself counting the black spots in the lavender, an afterthought about how she had never actually stopped to analyze the man's... acquisition.

She liked black orbs better.

"I'm not." He said at last, and Ino looked confused.

"Pardon?"

"I am not proud of my power. Or of how I achieved it." Sasuke looked at Ino's mouth when she slid her tongue across her dry lips, although she couldn't tell the direction of his gaze from that distance. "I grew up in someone's shadow too"

"Your brother?"

He did not say anything, but his silence confirmed the question. Ino looked up at the sky again, Sasuke mirroring the movement, almost influenced.

It somehow made sense, and she almost understood more than she wanted. In a distorted and very pronounced way, they were not so different.

"You don't need to know who you are now. The journey does that for you before you can realize it, or like it." Sasuke spoke after a few minutes of meditative silence.

Ino looked back at Sasuke, her blue eyes suddenly looking much darker than normal.

"Is that what you're doing? Finding out who you are?" she played along, her voice a lot rougher than she intended, almost as if it were an accusation.

Sasuke shook his head, a discrete movement that was practically imperceptible, and if it weren't for the silver moonlight, Ino would have almost missed it.

"Redemption," he said, and turned to look at her fully.

Ino smiled, a sadistic giggle escaping her throat, which made Sasuke frown. For some reason, he was talking about personal matters with Yamanaka, something he didn't even imagine in the most remote and sickly part of his head, and now in reality the woman was laughing in his face. At the very least, he was insulted.

"It's a beautiful word, for sure. For cowards," she explained.

"Is remission stupid to you?" he asked irritably.

"What do you want the atonement for all the evil you did for? To be able to live comfortably with a light conscience? Our world is not like that, Uchiha. We cannot seek redemption for every failure we have, for every decision ... for every death. Accidental, purposeful. None."

"You weren't where I was, you didn't see what I saw, you didn't do what I did." Sasuke grunted, his previously unmoved body language being replaced by tension.

Ino straightened her spine, but her eyes softened at the sight of the man. He looked almost lost, and for the first time she could see behind the cold visage, the despair veiled behind the intense eyes.

"Redemption is an excuse for you to live peacefully with your past, Sasuke. We cannot be forgiven for what we live. Or for our lives. Our mistakes will be a cross that we must carry, it will be with us forever. We will never live in peace, but happiness can be achieved when we stop living for it. " Ino looked for something in Sasuke's eyes, strolling between the black onyx and the lilac spheres. "And we learn to live despite that."

"You do this?"

"I should?"

Sasuke said nothing, and Ino decided not to wait for an answer after a few minutes, contenting herself with his simple presence and the howling wind between them.

"Yamanaka."

"Hm?" Ino blinked, the lashes feeling heavy.

"How much do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you, Uchiha. I'm just mad at you. Hate is a very serious thing for people who are never sure if they will ever see tomorrow again. You're not worth it."

Snuggled up against her backpack, Ino didn't even notice when sleep won the battle, but if she was awake, she would definitely have had one or two things to say when Sasuke wrapped his arm under her knees and behind her back, carrying her to the makeshift tent, where sand slipped from her hair onto the pillow.

And if it weren't for that, the confused and sublime expression with which Sasuke watched her for a very long time, surely would have caught her attention.

.

.

Ino woke up abruptly, trying desperately to inhale the air. She felt tremendous pressure on her stomach, as if someone had deliberately sat on top of her to prevent her breathing.

However, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was still dark, and she had to get up on her elbows to take note of her surroundings.

Everything seemed very reasonable and exactly as it had been when she closed her eyes, but for some reason she couldn't feel the Uchiha's presence anywhere.

She checked one, two, three times, a then quick scan and a more thorough one to make sure there was really no sign of his chakra.

Getting up quickly, she pushed the tent's canvas away to go out into the cold air, proving that the only person in the camp was herself. Ino brought her hand to her thigh, her fingers touching the cold metal of the kunai.

That was when a flash of gold in the corner of her eyes caught her attention and she quickly went into a defensive position, an entire dictionary of swear words coming out of her mouth as she realized it was a person, a totally random and unknown one.

"I see you, damn it!" She screamed, her fingers flexing in tension on the weapon's handle.

"I see you, too!"

Ino narrowed her eyes when a woman came out of the trees. She was tall, her blond hair was short at the jaw, but it was her eyes that gave her identity. And although the recognition was almost instantaneous, the grip on the kunai intensified, and Ino's heart sped up.

"What the hell?" Looking her dead in the eye with a giant smile, there was a disturbing version of herself.

It was a taller, more mature Ino, with lines in her facial expression, a thin, whitish scar running down from her left eyebrow to her neck, crossing the entire side of her face, but basically a perfect spitting image of herself.

"KAI!" Ino said immediately, her features coarsening when nothing happened.

"Oh dear, this is not a jutsu, I am-"

"Me." Ino completed in disbelief. "How? Where's Sasuke at?"

"Uchiha." She corrected. "Not here."

"Where, I asked."

Ino moved away as her bizarre version approached, and she hissed when she realized that the rest of her weapons were still inside the tent, although her chakra was strangely fully powered.

"Not here." She repeated. "You don't have to be afraid, I won't hurt you, I already told you. I'm you."

"What does that mean?" Ino asked frustratedly.

"Let's say your little training had consequences. You know, Ino, you were very careless with your own mind."

Ino looked suspiciously, her position softening a little.

"That worked?"

A laugh filled the room.

"Oh, no, dear. Not at all. It was a miserable mistake."

Ino blinked confusedly and suddenly the image of the woman disappeared and reappeared right in front of her.

"But don't worry, I'm here now," the woman whispered and a shiver ran over Ino's scalp.

.

.

.

When Ino woke up, well, truly this time, she felt like she was reliving everything again, with her chest rising and falling desperately in search of oxygen. Ino would have cringed in terror if it weren't for the sight of Sasuke staring strangely at her.

"Yamanaka, it's time to go." Uchiha seemed to repeat it and Ino closed her eyes, running a hand over her sweaty face, swallowing to calm the rush in her chest.

Sasuke frowned at that.

"What's your problem?."

When Ino didn't respond, her breathing still heavy, Sasuke's expression deepened and the man crouched down beside her, his eyes darting over her in search of something that could indicate what was wrong.

_Say something_

"I'm fine, I'm ... fine." Ino said quickly, wincing at the voice in her head.

Sasuke stopped to gaze into Ino's face, looking suspicious, only pulling away when she started to get up.

"Give me ten minutes to get ready." Ino said, standing up with a silent groan.

Sasuke hesitated before leaving the tent, pressing a point of tension between his eyebrows. His head was aching, the two sleepless nights were taking their toll in one way or another.

He had spent the night listening to the woman's snorting inside the tent amid uneasy and disconnected murmurs. It had been annoying in the early hours, but it had become almost fun in the gloomy night, although now it seemed that Yamanaka was not having such fun.

"Come on." Ino passed him a few minutes later, establishing a comfortable run across the top of the sand dunes, the slight hitch in her steps not going unnoticed by Sasuke.

.

.

.

Fuya was a large village, but nothing comparable to the size of Konoha, or any of the other capital cities. In fact, the Land of Stone was very pleasant; even though it shared a border with Wind, it had no trace of sand, an extremely pleasant fact for Ino, and despite the symbolic name, the roads were greenish. The only things related to rocks were the gigantic mountains flanking the whole landscape, like a valley.

The small village of Daima, on the other hand, was very small and far from the metropolises, but Ino felt as if she had reached the end of the rainbow when she saw the inviting little houses. She would have almost vocalized her joy if she hadn't been so tired.

"This one is empty," Ino whispered over her shoulder to Sasuke, pushing on the window of a two-story house.

It was a beautiful, furnished house, although the appearance of it indicated that it had not been inhabited for at least a month, and Ino almost felt at home with the layers of dust and the smell of moldy fabric.

"I thought that trespassing didn't fit Konoha's moral standards." Sasuke said looking cautiously around.

"You will notice that Anbu, otherwise, has standards, but few morals," Ino replied with a smile. "We need to change clothes. It's a civilian village, walking in like ninjas would be like hanging a target on our backs."

"Do it fast, the indications point to our target's meeting being today." Sasuke murmured up the stairs to the second floor.

"I know, I'm the leader around here, in case you forgot!" Ino shouted, watching him disappear from view.

With a tired sigh, she followed the same path, noting that the house was much larger than it initially appeared from the outside. Ino went into an empty room, thanking Sasuke for leaving her alone to do her own thing. If it were Shikamaru, the man would be lying down behind her so that he could organize a strategy and achieve it simultaneously, saving time, effort and energy- his favorite style.

For a minute, she let the silly thought steal a smile from her.

In the middle of the room there was a large bed, and Ino was very tempted to rest her head on the fluffy pillows to regain her vigor, but she had to be content with the hot spray on her aching muscles in the shower of the adjoining bathroom. It was as satisfying as she imagined after three days of traveling through random terrain.

Her head felt strangely light and calm, despite the foreign manifestation of her psyche that she had accidentally invoked. She had no idea how to get rid of her mental form or how the hell she had come about, let alone what the hell she meant.

What she knew was that it was a total pain in the ass and she needed to get rid of it soon.

With a relieving sigh, Ino rubbed her hair, sending the dust and sand running down her neck and body, until she felt she was clean.

Bathing was always her most sacred ritual, the moment when she was able to relax and think, even in the middle of an S-level mission.

Ino was used to reconnaissance missions, and she knew there was nothing more innocent than the image of a pretty girl in a dress and slippers. The yellow cloth was like a decoy that accentuated the color of her own hair, cascading down her back, her bangs pulled back to give a good view of her face.

And just in case it was necessary, Ino was sure to leave a good space of skin uncovered on her legs to have something to play with in some situations that she had created in her head.

"You look so ... Uchiha." Ino mumbled when Sasuke walked down the hall in black pants and shirt. He looked exactly the same as always, attractive despite his dark face. "Come here."

"Yamanaka, what are you doing?" Sasuke spoke uncomfortably when Ino applied an alarming amount of hair gel on her hands and approached him. The man grabbed the thin wrists in his hands to stop her from advancing, his brows furrowed.

"Patting that duck's butt down on your head. It may be surprising to you, Uchiha, but some people may recognize one of the heroes of the new world. At least you got rid of the thing in your eye" Ino said, indicating both Sasuke's now black eyes, breaking free of the grip to rub the strands of hair on the back of his head.

Sasuke did not move, his arms falling at his sides as he looked away from Ino's bust, while she stretched to touch the back of his neck, the difference in height forcing her to go up on her tiptoes, her neckline wrinkled in front of his eyes. She did not seem to notice the awkward position, the expression focused on what she was doing, although Sasuke could not be quite sure that she was totally unconscious of their situation. Yamanaka's cunning personality was something to keep in mind.

"That's enough," he commanded and pulled away, suddenly hating the pallor of his skin, turning around so the woman wouldn't see the stupid blush in his ears.

"It could have been better, but no one will look at you from my side." Ino sighed, taking a small long-handled bag and placing it on her shoulder.

Sasuke didn't respond, but the dismay on his face was a palpable indication of his skepticism.

The walk to the center of the village was quick and pleasant, and Sasuke seemed very aware of his surroundings, analyzing the entire landscape carefully. Ino, on the other hand, was distracted and relaxed, reading a pamphlet about the tourist spots in the village.

"They have a zoo!" she said suddenly, pointing to a random image on the piece of paper.

"We are on a mission, Yamanaka." Sasuke grunted. "It's not a vacation."

"Wow, I almost forgot, your presence is so pleasant that it almost made me feel like I was on a spring break." Ino replied sarcastically. "I know that we are on a mission, but it is unusual for two people to visit a tiny place like this. We need a backup facade in case anyone doubts it."

"People will only assume that we are a visiting couple. It is a village famous for its matchmaking shaman." Sasuke said, taking the pamphlet from Ino's hand, then frowned.

"How the hell do you know that?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded to a large decorative plaque, saying "Welcome to the home of the matchmaking shaman!" in flashy cursive letters on the village's main street.

"Oh."

_Pay attention Ino_

Ino quickly closed her eyes, making a face at the voice in her head.

The village was very busy despite its tiny size, which Ino quickly found to be justified by the Agni Kai fact, the number of couples passing them was much greater than the people who walked alone on the street, and Sasuke and Ino mixed together more than they would like.

"Here it indicates that the target is Tabu Hyuna, but the photo is very outdated." Ino murmured the last part, noting just now that the file indicated the photo dated from three years ago.

Ino gently slid the image across the table, crossing her legs and smiling in the most relaxed and natural way possible, as if showing Sasuke an itinerary.

They had stopped by a cafe near a square. Ino found the menu of teas and cakes interesting, despite having ordered a savory pie, and even with all the tables occupied, the conversation was soft and whispered; no one was as loud as in Konoha.

"His physiognomy cannot have changed much, this man does not look like someone who would go on a diet." Sasuke said, looking at the stark image of the bearded man, the volume of his body a mess of muscle and fat.

Ino raised both eyebrows, almost surprised by Uchiha's attempt at humor. "Intelligence got the information that Mr. Tabu is going to be in a bar tonight, but it is not clear who he is going to meet, probably some potential bandits." Ino looked up at Sasuke. "Our mission is to gather information about Mr. Tabu's involvement with a Mr. Damuda, one of the nominees to be the leader of an expanding organization that is responsible for the mass murder of smaller villages. It is not to capture, nor kill, nor get close to other criminals. Just gather information. "

_Will you be able to do that?_

Ino scoffed, the scorn escaping louder than she intended, drawing Sasuke's attention.

"I have no problems with direct orders, Yamanaka." Sasuke spoke, returning the information file.

Ino folded the paper and put it in the bag, propping one elbow on the table and holding her chin in the palm of her hand, unconsciously bringing a fingernail to her teeth as she tried to keep the annoying whistles out of her head.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes running over the attentive face of the woman in front of him. There was something wrong with Yamanaka.

Since the beginning of the mission, she had always displayed a distant and cold image, and she never bothered to make clear her unhappiness at participating in anything with him. It hadn't changed much, but unlike the explicit and intentional anger at the beginning, now Ino's obliviousness seemed greater, she seemed almost apprehensive.

Despite this, he was able to classify Ino's company as ... tolerable. It was a surprise, but Yamanaka did not insist on meddling in his business and in the rare moments when they actually talked, he never found himself bothered or waiting for it to end. In fact, he found himself enjoying the conversation.

He dropped his gaze lower, where the yellow fabric of the dress slid down a velvet thigh and narrowed his eyes.

There was something sensual about the woman that brought stupid impulses to his body, something he didn't approve of, but grudgingly, he couldn't help but notice.

Sasuke rose abruptly from his chair, his expression dark with thoughts. The movement caught the attention of Ino, who looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"Let's go." Sasuke said, dropping some coins on the table and waiting for a confused Ino to get up to accompany him.

"What is wrong?" Ino fell in at a slow pace beside the Uchiha, as she was not inclined to run after the boy. Sasuke seemed to understand this by slowing his steps so they could walk side by side. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye, one eyebrow raised.

"Are we informal now?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes.

"I did not mean that." She mirrored his image arching an eyebrow, slowly clicking her tongue as she spoke. "Uchiha."

Ino was about to comment again on the little scene in the cafe when her eyes thought to capture a ghost of a smile on the man's face, and for that brief second she felt the need to look more closely, leaning forward a little so that she could see Sasuke's face openly.

It was at that moment that Sasuke wrapped an arm around her waist, giving a slight tug that caused her to bump the side of the man's body, an involuntary sigh escaping Ino's lips.

Ino looked shocked at Sasuke, the feeling soon changed to confusion and then anger when she tried to walk away.

"Chill," he whispered, his face approaching inches from her face.

"What are you doing?" Ino asked, cursing herself mentally when she felt the flush on her face.

_Isn't that what you want?_

"What?" Ino took a breath trying to push Sasuke, which made him hold her tighter.

"Yamanaka," he groaned, his eyes straying to some point to his left. "I said chill."

Ino followed the look and realization hit her, her body automatically softening against Sasuke, her expression more relaxed.

Less than ten meters away from their conjoined stroll, the burly man, with an image precisely identical to the one in the mission information documents, walked alongside a beautiful woman, a vague look at them until the man seemed to realize that there was nothing but another couple doing their gummy things.

Ino turned to Sasuke, a flirtatious smile playing on her lips, while covering the arm that was around her waist with her own hand.

"And luck smiles on us."

* * *

**WHAT'S UP GUYS! I'm back!**

This chapter was really fun to write, and this time I had the help of my newest BETA aka super amazing newest friend aka sensational aka I don't know how I was doing it without you, ILUMINADO !

Seriously, this guy is awesome, he did a lot of supervision and I'm so happy about it. Thank you very much, the notes helped me a lot.

For this chapter we have our part II (we will still have part III - and final - which will explain what the hell was going on with Ino in the previous chapter), and a little more Sasuke-Ino interaction.

We see that things are really weighing on Ino's head, and Sasuke's presence is a totally different thing that she never dealt with. She doesn't quite know how to act, she is not the outgoing and talkative Ino, but all the external factors do not allow her to simply ignore the Uchiha. The result of that? INTERACTION!

Let's see how this mission ends. It is an important thing that Sasuke does well and shows that he is capable of getting back on track. For that he will need to demonstrate to Ino that he is trustworthy, but the whole situation is not very inclined to that lol poor Sasuke

I miss Naruto too, I can't wait for them to finally be in the village all together and we can finally see how they will react to each other back to everyday life.

Now let's go to my loyal (and new) readers. I missed you so much !

**Guest I** \- I don't really know what you mean, but ok lol thanks

**BJJF691** \- aaaahhh I understand hahaha, it's an interesting way of looking at things. Don't you like drama? because I think there will be a lot lol

**LeahMfkn'Clearwater** \- Hello my dear friend. Yes! I love to write this evolution between the relationship, although I always think that I am being very abrupt. Ino has changed a lot because of the war, and I think that although she is not that bubbling bubble, I don't want it to be too dark either.

And yes, about sexual tension: Come on, even in real life, if you are around someone super hot, you react in some way, even if it means being super embarrassed. For Ino it is natural to play with this, because well, she is hot too and has a natural confidence in these aspects. As for Sasuke, he's used to women all over him, and the way Ino is hot, he doesn't mind getting into that game a bit, although he pulls away when he realizes that it could be something more serious. (We can see it in the scene where Ino does his hair.)

Yes it is! I love the ShikaIno relationship too, the friendship I say. I think they are like brothers, but they ended up walking away a little later, because I see that Shikamaru was always much more rational and Ino much more emotional, and I think they lead with the loss of different ways, and ended up walking away accidentally . But I will make it all go back to heaven. At any moment. I think: 3

ANYWAY THANKS FOR BEING HERE FOR ME MY DEARRRR

**Acronym**: Heyyyy yoooouuu! Jesus, don't even tell me, the pandemic never ends here in Brazil, it only gets worse T_T

My God, writing Sasuke for me is so difficult, because no matter how he is, it's still difficult to predict how his reactions to things would be.

I'm trying to be light on the SasuIno relationship transaction here, but I think that during a mission they wouldn't have much choice and would need to be at least civilian, or it would be hell and end up compromising everything. I managed to soften Ino a little in this chapter, because I think that despite being much more mature and introspective, and less bubbly and super cheerful as we are used to, Ino still needs to find her balance and understand who she is.

Not the Ino shaped for Sasuke. Neither does Ino who people expect her to be, always a flirt and an extrovert. Not even the bitter and dark Ino it would be after the war. I think Ino is like a balance between it all.

Yes it is! I totally hate how Ino is antagonized even though she has had the same training as Sakura. Well, considering she has a Yamanaka lineage and a much higher ninja propensity, I always thought it would be obvious that she would have incredible abilities, but Kishimoto only killed me inside with her weak development. Not that it's Sakura's fault, since Kishi also described her as being a total useless bitch because he obviously wasn't much interessed in having a female protagonist, using the Kunoichis just as love interests for the males one.

Anyway, I'm just trying to give Ino what would be rightfully hers. lol THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS SUPPORT ME!**  
**  
**megan:**Yeah, we always love Sasuke hahaha, thanksss

**Guest II**: I appreciate that, thankss

**Guest III**: Gracias!

**erikalu53006: **Thank you so much for your support! I'm glad you like it. Unfortunately we will only know in the next chapter what will happen to Ino and the muscular man. Hehehehe, I hope you like it

**Blacklivesmatte: **Well, I can't say that I updated soon, but I'm here now! Yes, I hate how there are few stories with Ino, tell me about Sasuke Ino AND Naruto. But I'm glad you like it, thank you very much!

**HadeCharon93:** Exact! Where the hell is Sasuke ? We'll find out in the next chapter! I hope you enjoy the interaction in this chapter too, I think the interaction between them is evolving. I still can't say what the pairing will be (because I don't know lmao either)

I'm so excited that you like my writing, I got help now, so I think it will be even better. Sometimes I get a little unsure about how it sounds, or if I'm being too abrupt with things, or out of character TOO much. If you notice any of this, I would like you to tell me, because sometimes we need to hear from outside; anyway THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENT!

**Guest IV**: Thanks!

**livinginamakebelieveworld: **Thank you ! Yes, don't even tell me, I don't know what the final match is going to be, but I feel bad for either of the boys. Maybe I'll leave Ino alone so I don't have to decide lol

**Aya Kazuki:** Thank you! I hope I can keep you happy with the development. Tell me what you think about it later!

**abuseBroken-Strings01**2: I think about that too, I think Kishimoto was totally stupid with the development of all kunoichi, but Ino, being my favorite, really caught my eye. She has so much potential, seriously, she would have all the elements to be legendary, but Kishi made her "just another lady", and the worst thing is that people see her that way most of the time. It pisses me off so much.

Anyway, thank you very much for your comment, I hope the chapter will please you, and I must say that the next one will have many more actions, and we will be able to see Ino with her strength in practice.

**LostInJapan**: Well, I don't really know who the final pair is going to be, but I think even if it's Sasuke, it won't be that weird. Both pairs will be developed enough to keep the choice, but we'll see later.

Sakura's development, on the other hand, was totally stupid in the manga if you let me tell you. She was like an insect that Sasuke literally crushed, but remained wrapped. Ino on the other hand did not have that contact, so the Sasuke-Ino encounter is another piece of history. They are getting to know each other, instead of meeting again, because I don't believe that they really know who they are.

Sakura for me was blinded by what she thought Sasuke was, and she wanted so much to realize this idealization that she was content with what was given to her. On the other hand I think Sasuke accepted it for the sake of convenience, why, come on ? Where was the love? Ino will get to know Sasuke for real, and since she has no romantic pretensions with him - yet - it will be much smoother.

Naruto for me, on the other hand, is a much easier connection. I see both as natural complements, and there is no reason why it shouldn't happen. He sees in Ino instantly what few people see, and I think they both have this aura of wanting to help people, you know? This thing of wanting to embrace everything and everyone. Ino being an example since she was a child for Sakura. I still want to write a story about NaruIno interaction as children, because I doubt Ino was complacent about the cruelty they did to Uzumaki.

They are two totally different couples, with a vibe, an involvement with totally opposite criteria. If I'm honest, I'm afraid to write about it. I may have to kill Ino to not get to that point. (THAT WAS MORBID, I AM SO SO SORRY.)


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